Policymaking to reduce carbon emissions an application of systemof- systems perspective

It has been widely acknowledged that tackling the problem of climate change entails dealing with the complex and uncertain nature of the issue [1,2]. More specifically, complexity in policymaking stems from: a system that includes people, social structures, portions of nature, equipment and organizations; the system being studied contains so many variables, feedback loops and interactions that it is difficult to project the consequences of a policy change. Also, the alternatives are often numerous, involving mixtures of different technologies and management policies and producing multiple consequences that are difficult to anticipate, let alone to predict ([3], p. 12-13).