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Expert Advice and Global Environmental Governance: Institutional and Epistemic Challenges for Assessment Bodies

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  • Rolf Lidskog

    (Environmental Sociological Section, School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, Örebro University, SE-70182 Örebro, Sweden)

Abstract

The global community remains significantly off track in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), prompting calls for not only stronger political commitments but also more effective and credible expert guidance. This paper contributes to this discourse by examining a critical form of global environmental expertise: the conduct of global environmental assessments. Such expertise has become a foundational component of the institutional architecture underpinning global sustainability governance. Focusing on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), one of the most prominent and widely recognized international expert bodies, this study examines the challenges that researchers face when synthesizing research findings and making them policy-relevant within the IPCC’s assessment work. The empirical material consists of an interview study (N = 18) conducted with experts involved in the IPCC, from its first assessment (1990) to the most recent one (2023). The data were analyzed thematically using NVivo. The analysis reveals four key internal challenges that the IPCC must address to enhance its advisory capacity: epistemic hierarchies, leadership and management dynamics, the complexities of formulating recommendations, and inequities in recognition and reward systems. By identifying and analyzing these challenges, the paper contributes to ongoing discussions about the IPCC’s future development and offers broader insights into the evolving role of scientific expertise in global environmental governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Rolf Lidskog, 2025. "Expert Advice and Global Environmental Governance: Institutional and Epistemic Challenges for Assessment Bodies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-15, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:17:p:7876-:d:1739894
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rolf Lidskog & Adam Standring, 2024. "Invaluable invisibility: academic housekeeping within the IPCC," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 177(10), pages 1-11, October.
    2. Jabbour, Jason & Flachsland, Christian, 2017. "40 years of global environmental assessments: A retrospective analysis," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 193-202.
    3. Karin M. Gustafsson, 2019. "Learning from the Experiences of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Balancing Science and Policy to Enable Trustworthy Knowledge," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-14, November.
    4. Diana Rucavado Rojas & Julio C. Postigo, 2025. "The cycle of underrepresentation: structural and institutional factors limiting the representation of Global South authors and knowledge in the IPCC," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 178(2), pages 1-11, February.
    5. Rolf Lidskog, 2025. "From climate facts to climate risks. How the IPCC treats risk and uncertainty," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 1-16, January.
    6. Shinichiro Asayama & Kari Pryck & Silke Beck & Béatrice Cointe & Paul N. Edwards & Hélène Guillemot & Karin M. Gustafsson & Friederike Hartz & Hannah Hughes & Bård Lahn & Olivier Leclerc & Rolf Lidsko, 2023. "Three institutional pathways to envision the future of the IPCC," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 13(9), pages 877-880, September.
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