Steve Rayner
Encyclopedia
Steve Rayner is James Martin Professor of Science and Civilization at Oxford University's Saïd Business School
and Director of the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, a member of the Oxford Martin School
. He describes himself as an "undisciplined social scientist" having been trained in philosophy, comparative religion (BA University of Kent) and political anthropology (PhD University College London).
A key research interest is climate policy, in particular adaptation
and geoengineering
as ways to mitigate climate change’s effects. He has been an outspoken critic of the architecture of the Kyoto Protocol
, and his paper The Wrong Trousers: Radically Rethinking Climate Policy, co-written with Gwyn Prins of LSE has been widely cited on this topic. He is also interested in wicked problems, uncomfortable knowledge and clumsy solutions. He is currently principal investigator of the Oxford Programme for the Future of Cities and co-director of the Oxford Geoengineering Programme. In 2008, he was listed by Wired Magazine as one of the 15 people the next President should listen to and was recognized for his contribution to the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC).
, his underlying theoretical interest has always been in the use of ideas about nature to justify moral and political preferences. Having spent much of his research career outside of academia, he also professes a commitment to "changing the world through social science." His doctoral research applied and developed Douglas’s Cultural Theory studying the organizational dynamics of the British far-left in the mid-20th century. He focused particularly on the tendency of Trotskyist and Maoist groups to factionalism and splits as well as their propensity to entertain millenarian ideas of social change. Subsequent work has explored the role of organizational culture in the perception and management of environmental, technological and health risks as well as the political culture of climate change.
Science in Society book series.
He is the editor, with Elizabeth Malone, of the four volume assessment of social science relevant to understanding climate change and its governance, in addition to maintaining a consistent critique
of the mainstream policy architecture for climate policy.
The 2007 report The Wrong Trousers: Radically Rethinking Climate Policy, summarized in the Nature commentary Time to Ditch Kyoto, claimed that the Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol were based on erroneous premises, and called instead for massive public investment in energy research, development, demonstration and deployment (RDD&D). The Wrong Trousers was followed by How to Get Climate Policy Back on Course and recently The Hartwell Paper
, which argued that the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit, marked the crash of the Kyoto Protocol, which had "failed to produce any discernable real world reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases in fifteen years." The Hartwell Group, as the authors have become known, continue to advocate a bottom-up approach to decarbonization
of the global economy. Rayner’s recent work addresses problematic issues in the relationship between science and governance as well as the governance of science. He has expressed concerns about attempts to resolve clashes in values either through appeals to science on the one hand or through extensive public participation on the other. His most recent efforts in this area have focused on the emerging technologies of climate change geoengineering and he was a co-author on the influential Royal Society report Geoengineering the Climate.
He has given nearly 150 invited lectures and conference presentations on topics such as climate policy, risk and governance, including the Jack Beale Memorial Lecture on Global Environment at the University of New South Wales, Australia
. Located in the Washington DC office, he led the Global Change Research Group from 1991 to 1996. Previously, he was Deputy Director of the Global Environmental Studies Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
where he was responsible for research in Policy, Energy and Human Systems. Throughout this period he also held visiting or adjunct appointments at Cornell University
, Virginia Tech, Boston University
and the University of Tennessee
.
. He is a Member of the Advisory Committee for the UK’s Climate Impacts Programme, served as a member of the IPCC for the Second
, Third
and Fourth
Assessment Reports, and was a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
from 2003-2009. Between 2002 and 2008 he also directed the ESRC's £5.2 million 'Science in Society' Programme. He is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute
, Royal Society of Arts
, American Association for the Advancement of Science
, and the Society for Applied Anthropology
. His work has been covered by the New York Times, BBC
, Economist, New Scientist
, Guardian, Nature, Sky News, Globe and Mail and Wired Magazine among others.
Saïd Business School
Saïd Business School is the business school of the University of Oxford in England, located on the north side of Frideswide Square on the former site of Oxford Rewley Road railway station. It is the University's centre of learning for graduate and undergraduate students in business, management...
and Director of the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, a member of the Oxford Martin School
Oxford Martin School
The Oxford Martin School was founded in June 2005 as the James Martin 21st Century School at the University of Oxford. It is named after its benefactor, James Martin, author of the influential books, The Wired Society and The Meaning of the 21st Century...
. He describes himself as an "undisciplined social scientist" having been trained in philosophy, comparative religion (BA University of Kent) and political anthropology (PhD University College London).
A key research interest is climate policy, in particular adaptation
Adaptation
An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....
and geoengineering
Geoengineering
The concept of Geoengineering refers to the deliberate large-scale engineering and manipulation of the planetary environment to combat or counteract anthropogenic changes in atmospheric chemistry The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded in 2007 that geoengineering options, such...
as ways to mitigate climate change’s effects. He has been an outspoken critic of the architecture of the Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
, and his paper The Wrong Trousers: Radically Rethinking Climate Policy, co-written with Gwyn Prins of LSE has been widely cited on this topic. He is also interested in wicked problems, uncomfortable knowledge and clumsy solutions. He is currently principal investigator of the Oxford Programme for the Future of Cities and co-director of the Oxford Geoengineering Programme. In 2008, he was listed by Wired Magazine as one of the 15 people the next President should listen to and was recognized for his contribution to the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body which provides comprehensive assessments of current scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risk of climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental and...
(IPCC).
Academic interests
Influenced by his PhD supervisor and lifelong colleague Mary DouglasMary Douglas
Dame Mary Douglas, DBE, FBA was a British anthropologist, known for her writings on human culture and symbolism....
, his underlying theoretical interest has always been in the use of ideas about nature to justify moral and political preferences. Having spent much of his research career outside of academia, he also professes a commitment to "changing the world through social science." His doctoral research applied and developed Douglas’s Cultural Theory studying the organizational dynamics of the British far-left in the mid-20th century. He focused particularly on the tendency of Trotskyist and Maoist groups to factionalism and splits as well as their propensity to entertain millenarian ideas of social change. Subsequent work has explored the role of organizational culture in the perception and management of environmental, technological and health risks as well as the political culture of climate change.
Major works
Rayner has authored or co-authored over 175 published works, including nine books, and is Series Editor of the EarthscanEarthscan
Earthscan is an English language publisher of books and journals on climate change, sustainable development and environmental technology for academic, professional and general readers....
Science in Society book series.
He is the editor, with Elizabeth Malone, of the four volume assessment of social science relevant to understanding climate change and its governance, in addition to maintaining a consistent critique
Criticism of the Kyoto Protocol
-Criticism of the Kyoto Protocol:Some argue the protocol does not go far enough to curb greenhouse emissions and avoid dangerous climate change ....
of the mainstream policy architecture for climate policy.
The 2007 report The Wrong Trousers: Radically Rethinking Climate Policy, summarized in the Nature commentary Time to Ditch Kyoto, claimed that the Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol were based on erroneous premises, and called instead for massive public investment in energy research, development, demonstration and deployment (RDD&D). The Wrong Trousers was followed by How to Get Climate Policy Back on Course and recently The Hartwell Paper
The Hartwell Paper
The Hartwell Paper calls for a reorientation of climate policy after the perceived failure in 2009 of the UNFCCC climate conference in Copenhagen. The paper was published in May 2010 by the London School of Economics in cooperation with the University of Oxford. The authors are 14 natural and...
, which argued that the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit, marked the crash of the Kyoto Protocol, which had "failed to produce any discernable real world reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases in fifteen years." The Hartwell Group, as the authors have become known, continue to advocate a bottom-up approach to decarbonization
Low-carbon economy
A Low-Carbon Economy or Low-Fossil-Fuel Economy is an economy that has a minimal output of greenhouse gas emissions into the environment biosphere, but specifically refers to the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide...
of the global economy. Rayner’s recent work addresses problematic issues in the relationship between science and governance as well as the governance of science. He has expressed concerns about attempts to resolve clashes in values either through appeals to science on the one hand or through extensive public participation on the other. His most recent efforts in this area have focused on the emerging technologies of climate change geoengineering and he was a co-author on the influential Royal Society report Geoengineering the Climate.
He has given nearly 150 invited lectures and conference presentations on topics such as climate policy, risk and governance, including the Jack Beale Memorial Lecture on Global Environment at the University of New South Wales, Australia
Early career
Prior to his appointment at Oxford University, Steve Rayner was Professor of Environment and Public Affairs in the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, where he directed the Center for Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy. He also held parallel appointments as Professor of Sociology and as the Chief Social Scientist at the International Research Institute for Climate Prediction. Before Columbia University, he held the rank of Chief Scientist at the Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryPacific Northwest National Laboratory
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is one of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, managed by the Department of Energy's Office of Science. The main campus of the laboratory is in Richland, Washington....
. Located in the Washington DC office, he led the Global Change Research Group from 1991 to 1996. Previously, he was Deputy Director of the Global Environmental Studies Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...
where he was responsible for research in Policy, Energy and Human Systems. Throughout this period he also held visiting or adjunct appointments at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, Virginia Tech, Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
and the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
.
Other honors and affiliations
Rayner is a Professorial Fellow of Keble College and Honorary Professor of Climate Change and Society at the University of CopenhagenUniversity of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
. He is a Member of the Advisory Committee for the UK’s Climate Impacts Programme, served as a member of the IPCC for the Second
IPCC Second Assessment Report
The Second Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , published in 1996, is an assessment of the then available scientific and socio-economic information on climate change...
, Third
IPCC Third Assessment Report
The IPCC Third Assessment Report, Climate Change 2001, is an assessment of available scientific and socio-economic information on climate change by the IPCC. The IPCC was established in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Programme and the UN's World Meteorological Organization ".....
and Fourth
IPCC Fourth Assessment Report
Climate Change 2007, the Fourth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , is the fourth in a series of reports intended to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change, its potential effects, and options for...
Assessment Reports, and was a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution in the United Kingdom was created under Royal Warrant in 1970 to advise the Queen, Government, Parliament and the public on environmental issues...
from 2003-2009. Between 2002 and 2008 he also directed the ESRC's £5.2 million 'Science in Society' Programme. He is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute
Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland is the world's longest established anthropological organization, with a global membership. Since 1843, it has been at the forefront of new developments in anthropology and new means of communicating them to a broad audience...
, Royal Society of Arts
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
, American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
, and the Society for Applied Anthropology
Society for Applied Anthropology
The Society for Applied Anthropology is a U.S.-based professional association for applied anthropology, established "to promote the integration of anthropological perspectives and methods in solving human problems throughout the world; to advocate for fair and just public policy based upon sound...
. His work has been covered by the New York Times, BBC
, Economist, New Scientist
, Guardian, Nature, Sky News, Globe and Mail and Wired Magazine among others.
See also
- Criticism of the Kyoto ProtocolCriticism of the Kyoto Protocol-Criticism of the Kyoto Protocol:Some argue the protocol does not go far enough to curb greenhouse emissions and avoid dangerous climate change ....
- AdaptationAdaptationAn adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....
- GeoengineeringGeoengineeringThe concept of Geoengineering refers to the deliberate large-scale engineering and manipulation of the planetary environment to combat or counteract anthropogenic changes in atmospheric chemistry The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded in 2007 that geoengineering options, such...
- Wicked problems