INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL-POLICY MAKING - IN PURSUIT OFUSEFULNESS

Current integrated assessment projects primarily seek end to end integ ration through formal models at a national to global scale, and show t hree significant representational weaknesses: determinants of decadal- scale emissions trends; valuing impacts and adaptive response; and the formation and effects of policies, Meeting the needs of policy audien ces may require other forms of integration; may require integration by formal modeling or by other means; and may require representing decis ions of other actors through political and negotiating processes, Whil e rational global environmental policy making requires integrated asse ssment, current practice admits no single vision of how to do it, so u nderstanding will be best advanced by a diverse collection of projects pursuing distinct methods and approaches, Further practice may yield some consensus on best practice, possibly including generic assessment skills generalizable across issues.