Article: Improving decision making for carbon management initiatives Journal: International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management (IJRAM) 2019 Vol.22 No.3/4 pp.342 - 358 Abstract: This paper reviews five challenges faced during decision making about carbon management initiatives. The first of these challenges deals with behavioural and perceptual obstacles, which often leads to the introduction of systematic biases during decision making. The remaining four obstacles deal with the complexity associated with the carbon management problems themselves. These include neglecting the objectives and related measurement criteria, which will guide decisions among competing risk management options; the tendency to look for singular solutions to complex problems, rather than considering a broad array of options; a lack of explicit attention devoted to the full range of tradeoffs that should be considered when choosing among alternatives; and a failure to recognise that preferences, and the decisions that result from them, are fundamentally constructive in nature. We conclude by outlining a decision-aiding approach that has been shown to improve the quality of decisions about carbon management. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Improving decision making for carbon management initiatives

Authors: Victoria Campbell-Árvai; Douglas Bessette; Lisa Kenney; Joseph Árvai

Addresses: School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA ' Department of Community Sustainability, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA ' Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council, 438 Main Street, No. 503, Buffalo, NY 14202, USA ' School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, 701 Tappan Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA; Decision Research, 1201 Oak Street, Eugene, OR 97401, USA

Abstract: This paper reviews five challenges faced during decision making about carbon management initiatives. The first of these challenges deals with behavioural and perceptual obstacles, which often leads to the introduction of systematic biases during decision making. The remaining four obstacles deal with the complexity associated with the carbon management problems themselves. These include neglecting the objectives and related measurement criteria, which will guide decisions among competing risk management options; the tendency to look for singular solutions to complex problems, rather than considering a broad array of options; a lack of explicit attention devoted to the full range of tradeoffs that should be considered when choosing among alternatives; and a failure to recognise that preferences, and the decisions that result from them, are fundamentally constructive in nature. We conclude by outlining a decision-aiding approach that has been shown to improve the quality of decisions about carbon management.

Keywords: decision making; carbon management; climate change; CCS; policy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRAM.2019.103338

International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management, 2019 Vol.22 No.3/4, pp.342 - 358

Accepted: 02 Apr 2019
Published online: 04 Nov 2019 *

Title: Improving decision making for carbon management initiatives

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