This month’s GeoPolicy Column was written by Alexander Roesner, a researcher at MARUM (the Center for Marine Environmental Sciences) and the winner of the EGU’s 2019 ECS Policy Competition, which provides the winner with funding to attend the EGU’s science-policy event, Shaping EU Missions in Brussels. Roesner outlines his motivation for applying for the competition …[Read More]
This month’s GeoPolicy blog post is a Q&A about the EGU’s second annual science-policy event, Shaping EU Missions: bridging the gap between geoscience and policy which was hosted in Brussels on October 17 2019. The EGU has an annual event outside of the General Assembly?? Yes! Except this one is much smaller with about 70 participants …[Read More]
An unsolicited email to a LinkedIn connection holding the title “science communicator” led me to the European Commission. My journalism master’s thesis was now complete, and I was in hasty pursuit of a career in citizen engagement of science. The EGU’s Policy Officer Chloe Hill responded to my spontaneous request for career direction and forwarded …[Read More]
The recent European Parliament election illustrated how divided Europe has become politically and intergenerationally. While the established parties lost their ground, both far-right populistic, anti-EU and liberal, green pro-EU parties grew in popularity among voters1, with the younger generation favoring the latter and the generations above the former2. What role is there for science in …[Read More]
On July 17 2019, the EU Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) published a report highlighting how thinking is challenged by today’s information environment and the role of evidence-informed policymaking in a well-functioning democracy. Titled Understanding our political nature, the report was produced with the assistance of 60 international experts in the humanities, behavioural and social …[Read More]
I recently had the opportunity to interview Matthias Kaiser, a professor at Bergen University and, at the time of the interview, Director of the Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities. He is part of an expert team that has given scientific advice to Norwegian policymakers, highlighting the issues that should be …[Read More]
GeoTalk interviews usually feature the work of early career researchers, but this month we deviate from the standard format to speak to Alberto Montanari, president of the EGU. Alberto has a long-standing involvement with the Union, stretching back more than 15 years. Following a year as vice-president, Alberto was appointed president at this year’s General …[Read More]
The 2019 EGU General Assembly was a great success. Not only was it the largest in EGU history (with over 16,000 participants, 5,531 oral, 9,432 poster and 1,287 PICO presentations) but it also allowed scientists to connect geoscience and their research with global challenges and potential solutions. One of the highlights of this year’s General …[Read More]
What inspires you to be a scientist? For me, the motivation comes from a strong desire to make the world a better place, to use our skills and knowledge as scientists to help society and shape the future. Increasing our collaboration and involvement is an excellent way to expand our influence, but for early career …[Read More]
Should scientists actively approach policymakers in order to guide their decision-making processes, or is it the policymakers’ responsibility to seek scientific advice? In the first of the Great Debates at this year’s European Geosciences Union General Assembly in Vienna a mixed panel of policymakers and geoscientists tried to answer who should be responsible for making sure …[Read More]
