EVENTS
From publication to public action: the case for responsible science activism
- March 18, 2026 4:30 PM - 9:00 PM
- The Royal Society and online
The scientific evidence for climate change, the harm it is currently causing and will cause in the near future, and the actions needed globally to avoid catastrophic levels of warming, are firmly established and globally accepted by the scientific community – and have been for more than two decades. Yet governments around the world are reducing net zero ambitions and reneging on longstanding international commitments.
The global science community have the data, expertise and understanding about the urgency of taking action. But scientists have not communicated this evidence to policymakers and publics, whether as threats or opportunities, in a sufficiently urgent and compelling way. Vast amounts of work at the science-policy interface – countless statements, declarations, reports, committees, events and workshops – are not seemingly leading to policy action at anything like the scale needed.
In other areas of public life, people campaign, they lobby, they bring their experience and knowledge and their passion. But the scientific community has not traditionally done this, retaining a professional detachment and feeding into the science advisory process.
In this event, we want to explore whether there is a case for responsible science activism, where scientists speak out, to affirm the reality, gravity and urgency of the multiple challenges we face. And if there is a case for science activism, how should the science community, universities and other employers, and the science structures within government, respond.
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Professor Paul Monks Pro Vice Chancellor and Head of College of Science and Engineering, University of Leicester, and former Chief Scientific Adviser, DESNZ [Chair] |
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Dr Charlie Gardner Associate Senior Lecturer in Conservation Biology , Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent |
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Professor Jeff Waage OBE Professor of International Development , London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine |
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Dr Abi Perrin Molecular biologist and freelance science and nature communicator |