The HBO and Sky UK television series Chernobyl is a historical drama that explores the events leading up to and following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Pripyat Ukraine. Not only does this series focus on one of the worst nuclear accidents in history, but also on the challenges and successes of one of the lead scientists involved in communicating the scientific evidence to key decision-mak ...[Read More]
GeoPolicy: Science Activism vs. Science Advice – choosing your path to policy impact
Science is a vital part of the policymaking process. It enables decision-makers to better understand the policy options that they have and the potential consequences of any actions or inaction. While it is just one factor that policymakers should consider during their decision-making process, it is an important one! This month’s GeoPolicy blog post will explore two different approaches that scient ...[Read More]
GeoPolicy: Life inside the European Parliament – an assistant’s view
This month’s GeoPolicy blog features an interview with Sebastian Jehle, Accredited Assistant to Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Norbert Lins. Understanding policymaking processes is vital to be able to engage with decision-makers and to provide scientific information that is both useful and timely. Sebastian was kind enough to answer some of my burning questions about life inside the Europ ...[Read More]
GeoPolicy: Your guide to science for policy at EGU23!
As the largest geoscience meeting in Europe with 14,000 onsite and 3,000 virtual participants expected this year, the EGU General Assembly has a huge range of scientific sessions that enable participations to gain a greater understanding about specific topics both within and outside of their research area. But more than this, there are also plenty of non-scientific sessions that participants can a ...[Read More]
GeoPolicy: Exploring life inside the European Parliament
The EGU’s annual Science-Policy Pairing Scheme connects a selected EGU member with a Member of the European Parliament to promote evidence-informed policymaking and encourage stronger science-policy partnerships! In November 2022, EGU Member of Manchester Metropolitan University Elias Symeonakis was paired with the selected Member of the European Parliament, Norbert Lins, an MEP representing Germa ...[Read More]
GeoPolicy: 5 ways for scientists to take the lead on evidence-informed policymaking
On 15 November 2022, the EGU and the European Parliament Intergroup on ‘Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development’ jointly coordinated an event, ‘Supporting the EU’s Biodiversity Targets by Bridging the Science-Policy Divide’. The event highlighted how science could be used to support the ambitious targets outlined in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and proposed EU Nature Rest ...[Read More]
GeoPolicy: A new step to build robust science-for-policy ecosystems in Europe
On 25 October, The European Commission published a Staff Working Document that aims to help Member States build capacity to use scientific knowledge more effectively in their policymaking processes. This month’s GeoPolicy Blog post provides a summary of the Staff Working Document that outlines key science for policy challenges and the EU instruments, resources and policy frameworks that can help M ...[Read More]
GeoPolicy: Building stronger and more diverse communities at the science-policy interface
There are numerous reasons why we should want to build stronger and more diverse scientific communities. Greater inclusivity leads to innovation, expands the pool of ideas, broadens perspectives, and encourages more people to engage. Strong and diverse scientific communities allow us to go beyond the information we can produce on our own and scale our research outcomes. But one reason not often ci ...[Read More]
GeoPolicy: Top 10 science for policy resources recommended by the EGU’s Science for Policy Working Group
EGU’s Science for Policy Working Group aims to promote greater collaboration between the geoscientific community and policymakers, highlight policy-relevant outputs from EGU scientists, and support evidence-based policy. Not only does the Working Group support EGU’s policy activities but it also provides individual members with relevant information and opportunities through the EGUR ...[Read More]
GeoPolicy: Responding to the EU Nature Restoration Law
On 22 June 2022, the European Commission presented its proposal for the EU Nature Restoration Law with the aim to recover biodiverse and resilient nature across the EU. Like all new legislation, the EU Nature Restoration Law was proposed by the European Commission and underwent numerous rounds of feedback from the public, stakeholders, and organisations via the Commission’s Have your say pla ...[Read More]