Understanding the cause of the disaster and the numerous post-disaster measures required to prevent a recurrence requires scientific information.
Rita Colwell, a renowned professor, stressed the necessity for Malaysia’s scientific community to “step up and speak truth to power” during a lecture in Kuala Lumpur, particularly in regards to climate change, biodiversity loss, and plastic pollution.
She emphasized these concerns in her speech at the International Institute of Science Diplomacy and Sustainability at UCSI University, citing them as the most significant of the many issues mentioned in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. She urged scientists in Malaysia to speak out for what is just, politely but firmly informing those in authority what is what based on knowledge supported by evidence.
British Petroleum’s (BP) Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill of 2010 served as a reminder of Colwell’s own service to the US White House. The largest oil spill in the history of marine oil drilling operations occurred that year as a result of an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.
In the following three months, an estimated 134 million barrels of oil are thought to have flowed from the damaged well, while eleven workers were killed. In his capacity as science envoy, Colwell recalled providing then-US President Barack Obama with a deluge of information.
Obama acted quickly, concentrating on the government’s all-out response to the immediate crisis, the steps to avoid another such crisis, and the longer-term crisis of America’s reliance on fossil fuels.
An important factor in that situation was science. The failure of the blowout preventer was remotely imaged, containment systems were stress tested, and other high-tech tasks helped stop the disaster. Following a three-year investigation, it was determined that the Gulf had suffered damages of up to US$17.2 billion, including harm to animals, beaches, coral, fish, and marshes.
Understanding the cause of the disaster and the numerous post-disaster measures required to prevent a recurrence requires scientific information. Scientists have documented the damage caused by the Gulf oil spill, and BP has paid a high price for it. More than US$60 billion has been assessed in criminal and civil fines, natural resource losses, economic claims, and clean-up expenses.
“Speak truth to power” is just one more example of the science-policy nexus, according to a specialist who also serves as the founding director of IISDS at UCSI University.
In order to encourage political leaders and decision-makers in the civil service and the corporate sector to make wise decisions based on the knowledge provided by the former group, “we try to promote a dialogue between the knowledge generators (researchers and academics) and those groups.”
Sadly, it doesn’t happen very often. Academics continue to be happy to stay inside the ivory tower. Many thoroughly researched reports and recommendations created by illustrious organisations like the Academy of Sciences are left on the shelves of libraries and archives to collect dust.
Recently, organisations have been created to play this bridging role. An early example is the International Network on Government Science Advice, which Sir Peter Gluckman of New Zealand founded in 2014.
The International Science Council (ISC) was formed in 2018 by the merger of the International Council for Science and the International Social Science Council.
Its mission is to advance science as a universal good, and two successful international forums for science-policy discussions are the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
It is encouraging to learn that a “Group of Friends on Science for Action” has recently been established at the UN’s New York headquarters to assist member states in using science to address sustainability-related issues.
A similar initiative within a huge bureaucracy like the UN has drawn criticism that it might only amount to a drop in the ocean, especially if it is spearheaded by the president of the General Assembly, who serves a one-year term. However, it merits a shot.
The expert continued, “We need to create a strong mechanism like the management of a successful airline: pilots can come and go, but a well-oiled aircraft would ensure that the business keeps flying.