Per Wikman Svahn

Most of my research is in some way related to the philosophy of risk and uncertainty. My research has covered issues such as: robust decision making strategies under deep uncertainty, philosophical aspects of worst-case scenarios, managing climate change risks, values in climate models, ethical issues in adaptation to sea level rise and radiation risk managment.

I am a member of the Scientific Council of The Swedish Risk Academy (Riskkollegiet) and a member of The National Committee for Radiation Protection Research at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Selected Publications

1. Carlsson Kanyama, A.; Zapico, J.L.; Holmberg, C.; Wikman-Svahn, P. “The Greatest Benefit Is to Think Differently”: Experiences of Developing and Using a Web-Based Tool for Decision-Making under Deep Uncertainty for Adaptation to Sea Level Rise in Municipalities. Sustainability 2024, 16, 2044. 
2. Undorf S, Pulkkinen K, Wikman-Svahn P, Bender FA. (2022) How do value-judgements enter model-based assessments of climate sensitivity?.Climatic Change, 174(3): 1–26.
3. Pulkkinen, K., Undorf, S., Bender, F., Wikman-Svahn, P., Doblas-Reyes, F., Flynn, C., Hegerl, G.C., Jönsson, A., Leung, G.K., Roussos, J. and Shepherd, T.G., 2022. The value of values in climate science.Nature Climate Change, pp.1-3.
4. Wikman-Svahn, P., The flow of values in environmental risk assessments. InResearch Ethics for Environmental Health(pp. 198-208). Taylor & Francis. (2021)
5. Wedin, A., Wikman–Svahn, P. A Value Sensitive Scenario Planning Method for Adaptation to Uncertain Future Sea Level Rise. Sci Eng Ethics 27, 69 (2021).https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-021-00347-0
6. Jonathan Metzger, Annika Carlsson Kanyama, Per Wikman-Svahn, Karin Mossberg Sonnek, Christoffer Carstens, Misse Wester & Christoffer Wedebrand (2021): The flexibility gamble: challenges for mainstreaming flexible approaches to climate change adaptation, Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning,DOI: 10.1080/1523908X.2021.1893160
7. Carstens C, Räätty R, Mossberg Sonnek, K, Wikman-Svahn, P,  Carlsson-Kanyama A, (2019) "Insights from Testing a Modified Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways Approach for Spatial Planning at the Municipal Level", Sustainability 2019, 11(2), 433, https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/2/433
8. Carlsson-Kanyama A, Wikman-Svahn, P, Mossberg Sonnek, K, (2019) “We want to know where the line is”: Comparing current planning for future sea-level rise with three core principles of robust decision support approaches, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, (online)https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09640568.2018.1496070
9. Wikman-Svahn, P. & Lindblom, L. Toward a Responsibility‑Catering Prioritarian Ethical Theory of Risk, Sci Eng Ethics (2018).https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-018-0036-2
10. Sriver, R.L., Lempert, R.J., Wikman-Svahn, P., Kellerm K. (2018) Characterizing uncertain sea-level rise projections to support investment decisions. PLoS ONE 13(2): e0190641. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190641
11. Carlsen, H., Klein, R. J. T., & Wikman-Svahn, P. (2017). Transparent scenario development. Nature Clim. Change, 7(9), 613. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3379
12. Baard P & Wikman-Svahn P 2016 Do We Have a Residual Obligation to Engineer the Climate, as a Matter of Justice? In Preston CJClimate Justice and Geoengineering. Ethics and Policy in the Atmospheric Anthropocene. Rowman & Littlefield.
13. Carlsen H, Lempert R, Wikman-Svahn P, Schweizer V 2016 Choosing small sets of policy-relevant scenarios by combining vulnerability and diversity approaches. Environmental Modelling & Software, 84: 155–164.
14. Roffey R, Lindberg A, Molin L, Wikman–Svahn P 2015 A plausible worst-case scenario of increasing antibiotic resistance as a tool for assessing societal risks and capabilities in Sweden. Health Security 13(3): 174–183.
15. Wikman–Svahn P 2015 Radiation in Holbrook, J. Britt, and Carl Mitcham, eds. Ethics, Science, Technology, and Engineering: A Global Resource, 2nd edition. 4 vols. Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2015.
16. Wikman–Svahn P 2015 International commission on radiological protection in Holbrook, J. Britt, and Carl Mitcham, eds.Ethics, Science, Technology, and Engineering: A Global Resource, 2nd edition. 4 vols. Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2015
17. Carlsen H, Johansson L, Wikman–Svahn P, Dreborg KH 2014 Co-evolutionary scenarios for creative prototyping of future robot systems for civil protection. Technological Forecasting & Social Change. 84: 93–100.
18. von Oelreich J, Carlsson­–Kanyama A, Svenfelt Å, Wikman–Svahn P 2013 Planning for future sea level rise in Swedish municipalities. Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability 20(4): 459–473.
19. Carlsen H, Dreborg KH, Wikman–Svahn P 2013 Tailor-made scenario planning for local adaptation to climate change. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 18(8): 1239–1255.
20. Wikman–Svahn P 2012 Radiation protection issues related to the use of nuclear power. Wiley Interdiciplinary Reviews Energy and Environment 1:256–269.
21. Möller N, Wikman–Svahn P 2011 Black Elephants and Black Swans of Nuclear Energy. Ethics, Policy & Environment 14(3): 273–278.
22. Carlsen H, Dreborg KH, Godman M, Hansson SO, Johansson L, Wikman–Svahn P 2010 Assessing socially disruptive technological change. Technology in Society 32(3):209–218.
23. Wikman–Svahn P 2008 The ethical foundation of radiation protection – from utilitarianism to an ‘individual-based philosophy’. in Feltz and Eggermont, 2008,Ethics and Radiological Protection, Louvain-la-Neuve: Academia Bruylant.
24. Wikman–Svahn P, Peterson M, Hansson SO 2006 Principles of protection: a formal approach for evaluating dose distributions. Journal of Radiological Protection 26:69–84.
25. Wikman, Per. 2004. Reply to Dr D J Higson. Journal of Radiological Protection 24(4):428-429.
26. Wikman P 2004 Trivial Risks and the New Radiation Protection System. Journal of Radiological Protection 24(1):3–11.