As part of the risk retirement process, OES-Environmental has developed "evidence bases" for several key stressor-receptor interactions. The evidence bases are non-exhaustive, curated reference lists of journal articles and reports that provide the most helpful and objective data/research on each stressor-receptor interaction. The goal of these evidence bases is to be a neutral source of the ‘best of the best’ scientific information that regulators, advisors, or other interested individuals can access, explore, and evaluate the level of risk presented by each stressor-receptor interaction to inform a new application or project.
Documents included in the evidence bases at this time are cited within the 2024 OES-Environmental State of the Science report or the 2020 OES-Environmental State of the Science report, both of which are highly reviewed publications representing an international understanding of the environmental effects of marine renewable energy. The evidence bases were first developed and widely reviewed following a series of expert workshops hosted by OES-Environmental in 2019 and 2020. They have been updated with additional scientific information listed in the 2024 State of the Science report, reviewed by OES-Environmental country analysts, and will be updated at key time periods in the future as new information emerges to stay relevant and provide the best information.