The precautionary principle guides decision-makers faced with risks, scientific uncertainty and public concerns. As a general principle of EU law, it allows decision-makers to adopt precautionary measures, despite a situation of scientific uncertainty about, for instance, environmental or health impacts of new technologies or products. Hence, the precautionary principle encourages early and forward-looking action to minimise risks. Critics of the precautionary principle argue, however, that it promotes excessive caution and hinders technological innovation.
The RECIPES (“REconciling sCience, Innovation and Precaution through the Engagement of Stakeholders”) project links the precautionary principle with the notion of ‘responsible innovation’ and highlights the principle as an important enabler for the implementation of this anticipatory and inclusive approach to the governance of research and innovation. RECIPES overall objective was to develop tools and guidelines to ensure the precautionary principle is applied to foster responsible technological innovation. RECIPES worked closely with stakeholders through interviews, workshops, webinars and other methods of stakeholder engagement, such as scenario workshops and digital platforms for stakeholder participation.
One of the key messages of the project’s main outcome, the Guidance for the Future Application of the Precautionary Principle in the EU, is that the precautionary principle unfolds its full potential by serving in a double role. As a legal principle and safeguard, it permits policy-makers and legislators to manage uncertain risks by preventing irreversible damage. As a compass and policy principle in research and innovation, it can trigger upstream debates and research about the potential impacts of emerging technologies and related innovation pathways, lead to adjustments in innovation development and stimulate responsible innovation. The RECIPES Guidance highlights that the overall process of risk governance should be precautionary in the sense that it is consistently sensitive to uncertainties and knowledge gaps, as well as to potentially serious harm. Consequentially, anticipation, inclusion, reflexivity, and responsiveness are key principles for technology governance in the EU.
RECIPES demonstrated the precautionary principle’s pronounced relevance at the international, EU and national level. The project’s empirical insights from the application of the precautionary principle in different areas both at European and at Member State level have contributed towards a deep and analytically sound understanding of the tensions and synergies between precaution and innovation. This knowledge was essential to solve the perceived tensions between precaution, innovation and science.
