BIST statement on climate crisis and global action

ICIQ joined the Global Climate Strike taking place from the 20th to the 27th of September.

On Friday 27th September the ICIQ community took a stand for our future by gathering at the ICIQ reception for a 4-minute 15-second break (in honour of the atmospheric 415 CO2 ppm achieved earlier this year) and reading the following statement:

We work in some of the most advanced research institutions in our country, recognized with awards and certifications of excellence, employing world-class scientists and participating actively in the international science arena. As such, we are well placed to know the science behind climate change. Likewise, we also have a direct duty to ensure that our scientific conclusions revert back to our society.

We are both privileged observers and human beings inhabiting this planet. We therefore feel compelled to preserve nature and issue the following statement in connection with the Global Climate Strike actions that are taking place around the globe.

1. Scientific evidence is strong. All publicly funded research is openly available so that anybody can examine its methodology and reproduce its conclusions. This transparency ensures that anything we say can be verified, irrespective of who said it or who funded their research.
2. The conclusions from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are informed by solid science reported transparently for all to examine. Its conclusions are inescapable.
3. The main conclusions are that global warming emergency is a fact, that it is caused by humans and that, if prompt actions are not undertaken, it will have catastrophic effects and disruptive consequences (from mass migrations to changes in the food we eat) for the whole planet.

For these reasons we, the BIST centres, declare our explicit support to the call for action that has been launched around the world by movements such as Global Climate Strike. We invite all science-related and academic personnel to join this call to action. Available data are already strong enough to ignite short and long term personal, social and political actions. It is time for change.