Academic journal articles on sub-results of the RECIPES project

During the RECIPES project time, RECIPES partners have written on sub-results of the project. Below are the publications listed that refer to the RECIPES research.

Sabrina Röttger-Wirtz, "Case C-616/17 Blaise and Others: The Precautionary Principle and Its Role in Judicial Review – Glyphosate and the Regulatory Framework for Pesticides", Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, 27(4), 2020: 529-542. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1023263X20949424.

Abstract

The approval renewal of glyphosate as an active substance for pesticides in the EU has also kept the Court of Justice occupied. Within this line of case law, the Blaise case is the most recent one. In this preliminary reference procedure the Court was asked to review the validity of the Plant Protection Products Regulation 1107/2009, examined against the precautionary principle as benchmark. The case is relevant not only for the questions raised about the Regulation, but also as it sheds a light on the – albeit limited – use of the precautionary principle in the judicial review of EU legislative measure.

 

Fritz-Julius Grafe and Harald A. Mieg, "Precaution and Innovation in the Context of Wastewater Regulation: An Examination of Financial Innovation under UWWTD Disputes in London and Milan", Sustainability, 13(16), 2021: 9130. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169130.

Abstract

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) under the guidance of the precautionary principle sets out standards to guarantee high quality water services for European citizens. This creates pressure on European cities to update and renew their water infrastructures in accordance with EU Law at great financial cost. Cities within the Union try to bridge this financial gap with a variety of approaches. This paper presents the cases of London and Milan, both of which were subject to legal proceedings for breaching the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. By example of these two cases, this article details how the precautionary principle affects urban water infrastructure provision, and how the regulation of the primary risk of pollution can both trigger innovation and create secondary risks within the highly integrated urban water infrastructure sector. The London case focusses on an individual infrastructure project and shows how its financial framing has compromised the final outcome, while the Milan case presents a longer-view perspective that shows how structural changes in the urban water infrastructure sector have enabled an environment for sustainable financial innovation. The role of transparency and good local governance practices are emphasized for a successful implementation of the precautionary principle requirements in a city’s water sector. Managing this process effectively can result in meaningful social innovation for urban water infrastructure provision.

 

Jeroen P van Der Sluijs, "Insect decline, an emerging global environmental risk", Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 46, 2020: 39-42. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2020.08.012.

Abstract

The Earth’s entomofauna seems in an ongoing state of collapse. Insect decline could pose a global risk to key insect-mediated ecosystem functions and services such as soil and freshwater functions (nutrient cycling, soil formation, decomposition, and water purification), biological pest control, pollination services and food web support that all are critical to ecosystem functioning, human health and human survival. At present the attention for insect decline is low in all domains, ranging from scientific research to policy-making to nature conservation. Scientists made urgent calls to prioritise insect conservation. An international treaty for global pollinator stewardship and pollinator ecosystem restoration is urgently needed to counteract the current crisis. A review of insect pollinator conservation policies found that despite scientific calls and public outcry to develop polices that addresses declines, governments have not delivered such legislation, nor have they met basic monitoring needs recommended by experts.

 

Jeroen P van der Sluijs, Stéphane Foucart and Jérôme Casas, "Editorial overview: Halting the pollinator crisis requires entomologists to step up and assume their societal responsibilities", Current Opinion in Insect Science, 46, 2021: vi-xiii. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2021.08.004.

The decline of bees and other pollinators continues at a high pace, and time for action is running out. Entomologists need to work with and for insects, in a much more complex settings but in a more positive and nurturing attitude. They need to step up to increase the policy relevance of their research, to help adequately diagnose the problem, and to help develop timely structural solutions and policy options. Breakthroughs such as the ban of an entire class of proven harmful pesticides implied in pollinator decline became only possible following deep engagement of scientists with all stakeholders and entomologists assuming their societal responsibilities. This needs to become the norm, not the exception.

 

Laura Drivdal and Jeroen P van der Sluijs, "Pollinator conservation requires a stronger and broader application of the precautionary principle", Current Opinion in Insect Science, 46, 2021: 95-105. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2021.04.005.

Abstract

The accumulating scientific evidence on global insect and pollinator decline is fueling calls for pollinator conservation policies. A broad range of regulating and incentivising policies is undoubtedly needed to address the diverse threats to pollinator abundance and diversity, but implementing policies and regulations is beset by socio-political challenges. Lessons could be learned from the past and current applications of concepts central to biodiversity conservation. Given the uncertainties and data gaps, the concept of the Precautionary Principle (PP) is particularly important. The PP means that when it is scientifically plausible that human activities may lead to morally unacceptable harm, actions shall be taken to avoid or diminish that harm: uncertainty should not be an excuse to delay action. This paper reviews the role of the PP in pollinator conservation. The current research front is fragmented: the PP is briefly mentioned as relevant in literature on biodiversity conservation because of the scientific uncertainties regarding insect decline and their diverse drivers. A separate strand of literature contains studies on specific cases where the PP has played a role in the regulation of specific threats to pollinators: systemic insecticides and global trade in bees. Although limited to two significant threats to pollinator abundance and diversity, these studies provide important lessons on the challenges of implementing precautionary pollinator conservation policies and underline socio-political aspects of the ‘human-dimensions’ of pollinator conservation. Specifically, they highlight that ambiguity is a greater challenge than scientific uncertainty, which may be heightened when policies are intended to regulate specific economic sectors. We suggest that more attention should be paid to the discrepancy between the PP as formally included in policies or regulations and its inadequate implementation (too little too late) in a context of scientific uncertainty and societal conflict.

 

Mieg, H.A. (2022). The Responsibility of Science: An Introduction. In: Mieg, H.A. (eds) The Responsibility of Science. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, vol 57. Springer, Cham.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91597-1_1

Abstract

This is the introduction to the book The Responsibility of Science, containing three parts. I explain both the concept of responsibility and science as an institution. I then present lines of argumentation that run through the essays of this volume and combine them. (i) Responsibility is a relational concept, derived from the verb “to respond.” Therefore, the concept of responsibility refers to a relation involving at least three elements: Someone is responsible for something to someone else. Moreover, responsibility is attributive, that is, resulting from a social attribution of guilt or duties to a person. (ii) Science is meant here to refer to historically developed, institutionalized research and to be thought of independently of the objects of that research. Therefore, by ‘science,’ I am referring to natural and social sciences as well as humanities, and make no distinction between pure and applied science. (iii) This volume lives through the many references that link the chapters and the lines of argumentation that develop in the work, such as Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) as a new approach within EU research policy; the ethical question of the moral person in science; and the effects of the institutionalization and professionalization of science.

 

De Smedt, K., Vos, E. (2022). The Application of the Precautionary Principle in the EU. In: Mieg, H.A. (eds) The Responsibility of Science. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, vol 57. Springer, Cham. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91597-1_8 

Abstract

The precautionary principle is a guiding principle that allows decision makers to adopt precautionary measures even when scientific uncertainties about environmental and health impacts of new technologies or products remain. It is also a debated principle. Proponents of the precautionary principle argue that it provides a framework for improving the quality and reliability of decisions over technology, science, ecological and human health, and leads to improved regulation. Opponents argue that it is incoherent, lacking orientation and that it hinders innovation. The aim of this Chapter is to increase understanding of the perceived tension between the precautionary principle and innovation by examining how the precautionary principle is applied in EU law and by the EU courts.

Scientific Publication
Publishing Date