Links Day 21

"Science must continue to be at the heart of all climate action & policy." - Monica Dean, Senior Expert Advisor, US State department.

What better way to start of a blog that wants to embrace collaboration than by talking about Parliamentary Links Day 21? For those who don’t know, Links Day is the largest science event on the annual Parliamentary calendar. Organised by the Royal Society of Biology, it brings together scientists and members of parliaments. Each year a different theme is chosen with past events including “Science after the referendum: What next?”; “Science and Industrial Strategy” and one reoccurring theme: “Science and Public Trust.” This year, the topic chosen was Science and Climate Change. Aside from the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change is one of the biggest problems we're facing.

Links Day 21 was made particularly special as the customarily invite only event was not only open to the public but we were encouraged to submit questions. The entire event can be seen on YouTube but I thought I’d share some of the key takeaways.

Firstly, note how many natural and life science societies support this event. This cross section of the science and engineering community shows the diversity of different fields all with common ground: to bring science and politics together for want of a better world and in this year’s case a better planet. These changes can’t be made from one or two fields alone and they certainly can’t be done without the aid of parliament.

In November this year COP26 (Conference of the Parties) is taking place in Glasgow – a global united nations summit about climate change attended by countries that signed the UNFCCC treaty agreed in 1994. This will be the biggest summit the UK has ever hosted and is the most significant climate event since the 2015 Paris Agreement. Between now and then parliament needs to pay attention to the science and as Rt Alok Sharma MP stated "..though politicians and governments must lead the national and international response to crisis, it is vital that science lights the way. Otherwise we are stumbling in the dark." The goal is to reach NET ZERO, "the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced (e.g CO2) and the amount removed from the atmosphere" by 2050. UK emissions should be slashed by 78% by 2035 and to get here Sharma adds that "all decisions should be made on the basis of the best available science."

During the Q&A with Katherine Fletcher MP (PPS to the COP26 President Designate), Fletcher was asked what changes she's personally made in a bid to help address the challenge of climate change. Aside from changing her car (900cc petrol) and reviewing her travelling means, she believes the public should have a wide range of choices to help make positive contributions or mitigate habits they may not be prepared or able to forego.

Lastly, I'd like to share yet another segment emphasising that without the connections between the sciences, STEM and parliament, nothing is going to change. These three take away points are from Monica Dean, Senior Expert Advisor, US State department.

1. "We can already tangibly measure how climate change is affecting the world around us...while we can already feel the effects of a changing climate our need for science is only growing, while many decades of research have already predicted (with striking accuracy) the rise in global temperatures, there is still so much we don't know about climate change, from health impacts to agricultural innovation..what we don't know is still as large as what we do know."

2. "One of the most important trends we've seen in sciences recently is the collaboration between social and natural scientists. Climate change isn't just the physical changes that are happening to our planet, but it's also the societal changes impacting cultural traditions, livelihood..and addressing this crisis requires massive transformation in how we live, how we eat, how we move, in order to fully decarbonise. Social sciences are a critical piece in addressing this and collaborations between the natural and social science are critical to fully understanding the risks and opportunities of how we solve this crisis."

3. "We need scientists to speak loudly and clearly. Scientists have long been some of the most trusted messengers on climate change, but despite this the divide between scientific publications and decision making remains large and a lot of it is because we need skilled science communicators helping translate this critical research to better inform decision making and public understanding."

If you're reading this as a nutritionist, or someone working in healthcare, and thinking climate change is none of your professional concern, I would encourage you to watch the full Links Day 21 on the Royal Society of Biology's YouTube playlist and think how climate change may affect your work in either a clinical setting, the food industry, or in public health.

On 6-8th July, The Nutrition Society are holding their annual Summer Conference 2021 "Nutrition In A Changing World" which focuses on climate change and its effects on food production, food behaviour and will have talks on sustainability and much more.

If you're someone who works in the environmental sector and would like to share your views on this topic get in touch: rosie@stemandpoise.com

Further reading

Butler, C.D., 2018. Climate change, health and existential risks to civilization: A comprehensive review (1989–2013). International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(10), p.2266.

Diffenbaugh, N.S. and Burke, M., 2019. Global warming has increased global economic inequality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(20), pp.9808-9813.

Hathaway, J. and Maibach, E.W., 2018. Health implications of climate change: a review of the literature about the perception of the public and health professionals. Current environmental health reports, 5(1), pp.197-204.

Luber, G. and Prudent, N., 2009. Climate change and human health. Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association, 120, p.113.