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Climate change and social order: Knowledge for action?

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Knowledge and Policy

Abstract

This article is a critical, sociological examination of policy advice aimed at reducing or limiting CO2 emissions. The policy proposals are taken from various sources directed to governmental or economic institutions and targeted to cope with the natural and social consequences of global warming. We ask, based on a sociological understanding of features constitutive of practical social science knowledge, how feasible and practical are various policy proposals. Our assessment, in turn, is based on a theoretical model of the characteristics ofpractical scientific knowledge, which is discussed in conjunction with the current field of climate change knowledge.

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Correspondence to Nico Stehr.

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He is currently the editor of theCanadian Journal of Sociology.

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Messner, W., Bray, D., Germain, G.C. et al. Climate change and social order: Knowledge for action?. Knowledge and Policy 5, 82–100 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02692777

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