With a background in management sciences (ESSEC), Olivier Godard had a PHD in Economics at Paris 1 University. He is presently Senior Researcher at CNRS. From 1973 to 1998 he developed his researches in the field of environmental policies and alternative development patterns at the School of Advanced Studies for Social Sciences (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales) in Paris, within the International Research Centre on Environment and Development (CIRED). In 1998, he joined the Laboratory of Economics, a joint unit of Ecole polytechnique and CNRS, where he developed previous work on several issues: the precautionary principle, emissions trading in the context of the Kyoto protocol and acid pollution, organisation of scientific expertise upon controversial matters (mad cow disease and embargo on British beef), sustainable development. He has regularly been a consultant for the OECD Environment Directory about the use of economic instruments for environmental policies. He is involved in the coordination of the new Chair on sustainable development created in February 2003 at Ecole polytechnique with the support of the French electricity company EDF. He recently published with his colleagues Claude Henry, Patrick Lagadec and Erwann Michel-Kerjan a book on "new risks": Traité des nouveaux risques. Précaution, Crise, Assurance, Gallimard, coll. Folio-Actuel n° 100, 2002.
