知識社群與全球氣候談判

Abstract

近年來，氣候變遷、全球暖化已成為重大國際環境問題。有關氣候變遷的科學研究，自一九五○年代便已展開，聯合國並因此於一九七九年召開第一次世界氣候會議(World Climate Conference)，探討氣候變遷的成因及影響。一九八七年氣候變遷議題開始列入聯合國議程。一九八八年，「聯合國政府間氣候變遷小組」(the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC)成立，進行氣候變遷之科學評估、影響衝擊及因應策略研究。從問題界定、議題框架、議程設定、建立共識、建議策略、氣候談判、簽訂公約的過程中，氣候科學評估及科學共識對公約演進扮演了不可或缺或舉足輕重的角色。本文即以IPCC為例，檢視「科學」與「知識社群」對國際氣候談判、國際氣候公約之影響，特別是對國際關係理論之意涵。從多元行為者、跨國網絡、議題聯結等角度切入，討論知識與權力的科學向度。

Global environmental issues such as climate change and global warming have become one of the most pressing concerns for both policymakers and the general public. When climate change first appeared on the United Nations (UN) agenda, the initial international response focused on science. In 1988, the UN established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to provide periodic scientific assessments. Throughout the climate change negotiations, IPCC has played an increasingly important role in issue surfacing and framing, problem definition, agenda setting, consensus building and developing policy options. By assessing the IPCC process, this paper explores the scientific dimension of climate change negotiations and discusses how climate science and knowledge-based epistemic communities influence environmental decision-making. Finally, it examines the scientific implications on the field of international relations under a conceptual framework of multiple actors, transnational networks and issue linkage.