GDB9 | Late-Breaking Great Debate: How should the global geoscience community respond to attacks on science?
Late-Breaking Great Debate: How should the global geoscience community respond to attacks on science?
Conveners: Peter van der Beek, Kristen Cook, Holly Stein
Fri, 02 May, 16:15–18:00 (CEST)
 
Room E1
Fri, 16:15
Vimeo: GDB9 – Late-Breaking Great Debate: How should the global geoscience community respond to attacks on science?
The first months of this year have seen extreme actions at an unprecedented scale and speed by the new administration in the USA with regards to science, targeting among others climate and environmental research, essential for the health of our planet. These radical decisions will prove harmful for people all around the world. Large numbers of scientists, in particular Early-Career scientists, have lost their jobs, significant amounts of funding have been withheld or withdrawn, and entire programmes and institutes have been closed. Students have been forced to abandon their education program and studies.

Suppression of science leading to discovery anywhere in the world by governments is a tragedy that affects us all. But when drastic actions are taken by a nation that was previously a source of leadership and resources for many pioneering research programmes, the impact of that loss resonates worldwide, and well beyond the scientific community.

In this late-breaking interactive session, we will discuss the global impact of these attacks on science, and how the global geoscience community should respond. In the current political context, how can we make sure that datasets of inestimable value, built from continuous, long-term, observations and research, continue to grow and remain accessible? How can we assure that scientists can work on subjects of their choice, follow the data, and freely communicate their results anywhere in the world? How can we secure evidence-based policy making for global climatic and environmental threats?

We aim to have this conversation with individuals and organisations who are directly impacted, as well as with global geoscience leaders who ponder the appropriate course of action.


All opinions, statements, and questions, either from the panel or the audience, are the speakers’ own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Geosciences Union (EGU), our conference organizer Copernicus or the Austria Center Vienna, but have been shared here in the name of supporting open, transparent, and unedited discussion on this topic.

Confirmed Panellists:

  • Christopher (Chuck) Bailey, Immediate past president, Geological Society of America and Professor at William and Mary College;
  • Robbert Dijkgraaf, Professor for Science and Society, University of Amsterdam, president-elect of the International Science Council, former Minister of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands and former Director of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton;
  • Eystein Jansen, Professor of palaeoclimatology at the University of Bergen and Vice-President of the European Research Council;
  • Brandon Jones, President of the American Geophysical Union, program director at the US National Science Foundation and former programs manager and agency representative for the US Environmental Protection Agency;
  • Naomi Oreskes, Professor of History of Science and affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University;
  • Sonia Seneviratne, Professor of Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zürich and Vice-Chair, Working Group I IPCC.

Session assets