how researchers deal with “political inertia” around climate issues

The paradox of the fight against climate change: the IPCC reports are piling up, but political action is not up to par. And ecology seems to have little voice in the European election campaign. This is the observation made by many researchers, who produce valuable data to guide governments. This inability to be heard has repercussions on their work and even their personal lives, and everyone is trying, at their own level, to find a way to respond to the climate emergency.

“We still have the impression that what we are doing is of no use”, castigates Gonéri Le Cozannet. This geographer, specialist in coastal risks and climate change, nevertheless co-wrote the sixth report of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). But he has not observed a real political turning point since. “We are asked to find solutions for adapting to global warming, we look for them, we find them, and ultimately we don’t want themhe sighs. And at the same time, we know very well that by not doing it, we are heading into a wall.”

“At the level of political decision-making, I have the feeling that we are trying more to defend ourselves against setbacks than to move forward, adds the researcher, citing the example of government measures after the farmers’ movement. On the climate, it is true that there are reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, but they are still very slow and we can clearly see that there is no structural transformation, for example in the field of transport or agriculture, which would make it possible to halve CO emissions₂ by 2030.”

These blockages can sometimes affect the personal lives of researchers. “I haven’t slept well for ten years, testifies Sabrina Speich, professor of oceanography and climate sciences at the École normale supérieure (ENS). And in recent years, seeing this signal in the surface temperature, it’s really very complicated to think of anything else. And there, we are not talking about the most fragile populations, we are also talking about the impacts in mainland France. The scale of the problem is significant.”

This teacher-researcher, who studies the impact of warming on the oceans, has not given up yet. She has decided to become more involved in United Nations programs where she tries to convince States to reduce their emissions and implement adaptation measures. “I work a lot more than I should”specifies Sabrina Speich, who also gives “Ocean & Climate” courses at Sciences Po. A choice which consists of “reach a very different audience”students who will become “decision makers who will be a little more informed within two or three years.”

“There is frustration, anger, anxiety, fear, doubts too. But all of that is almost secondary to the need to do something.”

Jérôme Santolini, research director in life sciences

at franceinfo

Jérôme Santolini is a research director in life sciences, but also a member of Scientists in Rebellion, a collective created in early 2020 which advocates civil disobedience. An unusual hat at first for him and many scientists familiar with the scientific method alone.

“The question today is to stop with these stories of neutrality, reserve and to say that scientists must not get involved in politics. They already have their feet in it”says Jérôme Santolini. “If scientists in rebellion mobilize in front of the windows of Amundi [un gestionnaire d’actifs français] or in the general meetings of BNP or Total, it is to say: ‘That is our common reality’. And our job is to give value, meaning to this reality, in any case a political space.”

This is a mode of action that Henri Waisman, researcher at the Institute of Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), does not personally envisage. But he finds merit in it. The role of the scientist has changed on climate issues, believes this decarbonization specialist, co-author of an IPCC report on global warming of 1.5°C. “We can no longer afford to be a little outside, to give a good word and pass on the responsibility of finding solutions to decision-makers, judges the researcher. I think we have a role to find which is to get involved in political processes which, by their very nature, will be complicated and will require evaluating the pros and cons of different solutions.” A method “complementary”he believes, to more high-profile punchy actions.