Diversifying the Climate: The Quest for Epistemic Diversity in Global Climate Change Governance

Andrés López Rivera

Climate change stands out as a policy field in which science is central. Scientific knowledge lies at the heart of our understanding of climate change: what it is (problem definition) and what to do about it (problem-solving). However, recent climate change assessment reports also recognize the importance of “indigenous, local and traditional knowledge.” As a result, global governance is turning towards knowledges and experiences of climatic change that reside outside scientific and expert domains. This recognition points to a changing understanding of the knowledge that informs policy. By focusing on claims and counterclaims to indigenous knowledge in global climate governance, this project seeks to analyze how and why these changes in knowledge and policy are taking place. Using process tracing as a method, the study presents a multi-sited comparison of claim-making repertoires revolving around climate change policies in the Arctic and Amazon regions. The project draws upon and extends prevailing theoretical insights regarding knowledge production and science-policy interfaces, particularly as relates to problem definition and problem-solving.