1. Benefits that can be gained from social scienceThere seems a great urgency to expand cooperation between social scientists and policy makers to improve the role of evidence-based science in decision-making. The social sciences must be at least as active as the natural sciences have been in studying climate change and environmental degradation in recent decades. Fortunately, the development of the interface between the two areas has acquired high priority at both the national and supranational levels. The most important claim regarding the benefits that policy makers can derive from the social sciences is that any process, problem, method, and rule-related questions (e.g., what level of "coercion" is historically, ethically, and culturally accepted or tolerated? Which constellations of regulatory measures and compliance behaviors (determined historically, ethically and culturally) are the most effective?), discussed in previous chapters, can be addressed and resolved with the tools of social sciences. The level of precision and depth of analysis depends mainly on stakeholder engagement and of course the available research budget. The results of social scientists' activities reduce uncertainties, facilitate risk-based decisions, and improve efficiency. Even a low level of investment in socio-economic research can provide essential information and facilitate the daily work of policy makers. This is a great advantage over the natural sciences. Many conclusions can be drawn from the environmental policy literature's overview of the importance of social science. The list below shows the benefits that can be gained, although it is far from exhaustive. It's... middle of paper ... social sciences can't do it. It can only answer questions at the same level of relevance as those being asked. Typically, very general questions are asked by regulators, for example “which instrument should I use?” » or “which method should I use?” ". These questions can be answered precisely if the question is: "Which instrument should I use for Problem X, in region Y and in sector Z?" Moreover, social sciences cannot provide appropriate results if the information is not available. Although social research generates new information, some field data provided by regulatory agencies is essential for further research and advice. This is extremely important because regulators sometimes hide them. their field data (for example on the environmental performance of the regulated area) to hide their failures.