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Reflecting the importance placed on broad participation in scientific assessments concerning the global environment, reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasize the large number of participating scientists and the many different countries from which they come. The emphasis also reflects recognition among IPCC leaders that the scientific assessments aren't likely to be accepted by country leaders unless scientists from their respective countries participate in the creation of the assessments. This suggests an understanding of scientific knowledge as situated knowledge. This understanding contrasts dominant understandings of science as objective, value-free, and separate from politics, a neutral arbiter enabling actors to transcend political divisions and narrow conceptualizations of self-interest.