IPCC gazing and the interpretative social sciences: A comment on Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen's: ‘Global climate protection policy: the limits of scientific advice’

This comment is a response to the 2-part paper ‘Global climate protection policy: the limits of scientific advice’ by Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen recently published in Global Environmental Change. We present some problems with Boehmer-Christiansen's core argument that the involvement of the research community in the IPCC has primarily been motivated by the desire to acquire more research funds. We stress the role of negotiation (between different groups and at different levels) at the IPCC and discuss some of its learning processes. We also use this case to comment on the role of the interpretative social sciences in global environmental change research.