In some countries, political events of the past year have highlighted a growing distrust of experts, a rejection of inconvenient facts, and a wish to make national borders less open. All three hinder the progress of scientific research. In the US, the start of Donald Trump’s presidency has seen gag orders for some US-government researchers, hire freezes, immigration bans and a trend towards dismissing mainstream scientific evidence on issues such as anthropogenic global warming and the safety of vaccines. Meanwhile, Brexit is expected to limit access to EU funding for UK researchers and restrict the free movement of people. At a time when (some) politics seems at odds with science, what can scientists do to further the progress of scientific research and ensure mainstream scientific views are accepted and taken seriously by policymakers and the public? With this session, we aim to discuss strategies to counter recent attacks on science and brainstorm ways in which scientists can stand up for science in an uncertain political climate.

Confirmed panelists

* Christiana Figueres (Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 2010–2016; Founder of Mission 2020)
* Sir David King (Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government 2000–2007; UK Special Representative for Climate Change 2013–2017)
* Heike Langenberg (Nature Geoscience Chief Editor)
* Christine McEntee (AGU Executive Director)