Science and policy in times of multicrisis and dissent
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Athens | 15–17 May 2025
Conference on "Science and policy in times of multicrisis and dissent"
What are the roles of scientific evidence and advice and of corporate and non-commercial societal interests in decision-making? In what ways do unaccountable economic actors, interests and assumptions shape policy and scientific considerations about what is possible and what is needed? Under what conditions can existing public problem-definitions, as well as just decisions on them, be made scientifically and democratically legitimate? How should scientific advisors and policy-makers respond to scientific disagreements? And what can responsible scientists do when governments adopt measures intended to shut down or at least control scientific dissent, when it challenges dominant official narratives? Questions like these will be at the heart of the three days of reflection at this conference. By promoting open debate and reflection, this conference aims to engage with a plurality of perspectives on the science–policy interface.
When: Thursday 15 May – Saturday 17 May 2025
Where: Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
Co-organisers: European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility, Critical Scientists Switzerland & Academy of Athens
Funders: Mariolopoulos-Kanaginis Foundation for the Environmental Sciences , Fondation Charles Léopold Mayer pour le progrès humain, Triodos Foundation & Zukunftsstiftung Landwirtschaft – GLS Treuhand
For more information, see here: https://ensser.org/events/2025/conference-programme-science-and-policy-in-times-of-multicrisis-and-dissent/
06/WIM CARTON on Carbon Dioxide Removal and Climate Overshoot
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- BEYOND THE FIX Podcast
This episode focuses on 'negative emission' technologies, which aim to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, either indirectly by influencing natural processes or directly through technology.
Our guest, Dr Wim Carton, points out how carbon removal is closely linked to the idea of 'overshoot': an actively advocated agenda for dealing with the current rush to climate catastrophe. Overshoot basically means that we accept to temporarily cross critical temperature limits and then these technologies will solve the problem of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at some point in the future. It's part of the IPCC scenarios and the Paris Agreement, and it is implicitly justifying the continued use of fossil fuels. Wim also introduces us to IAMs, Integrated Assessment Models, whose underlying economic assumptions reinforce the logic of postponing fossil fuel cuts by making them seem more expensive than fixing them later through negative emissions.
Wim Carton has just written a book on the subject (with Andreas Malm) called "Overshoot: How the World Surrendered to Climate Collapse". He is a human geographer at the Centre for Sustainability Studies at Lund University and has been studying the political economy of climate change mitigation for the past decade. His research has examined the impact of 'market-based mechanisms' on climate policy.
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05/ANGELIKA HILBECK on The Politics and Promises of Genetic Engineering
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- BEYOND THE FIX Podcast
In this episode we focus on genetic engineering, which is often presented as a necessity for climate-resilient agriculture.
Our guest, Dr. Angelika Hilbeck, takes us on a fascinating journey through the early stages of genetic engineering in agriculture, highlighting the flaws in the very essence of the approach – its reductionism of ecological relationships – which has not changed with CRISPR/Cas and new genomic engineering techniques. She explains how the promises of genetic engineering have been consistently exaggerated, and despite vast investments in the development of GM crops for agriculture, they have fallen short of expectations. She asks whether it is not only the considerable ecological risks of the technologies that make them a questionable bet for the future of agriculture, but the poor ratio of investment to results of the whole biotech endeavour.
Angelika Hilbeck is an agro-ecologist and entomologist with over 30 years experience in the study of genetically modified crops and their impact on the environment. She has done pioneering work on the ecology of GM crops and, more recently, alternative agro-ecological approaches in Eastern Africa. In 2024, she retired from 25 years of research and teaching at the Institute of Integrative Biology at ETH Zurich.
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04/RONY EMMENEGGER on Deep Geological Repositories for Solving the Nuclear Waste Problem?
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- BEYOND THE FIX Podcast
In this episode, we focus on one of the most challenging problems generated by human technology: where can highly radioactive waste from nuclear energy production be safely disposed for the next one million years?
Our guest, Dr. Rony Emmenegger, is a political geographer with a keen interest in the governance of human-environment relations. His work focuses on how knowledge of the deep geological underground is produced in the case of nuclear waste governance and how it is articulated and contested in the public sphere.
Through the lens of political geology, Rony tells the story of the long search for a deep geological repository in Switzerland (and beyond) and its crucial socio-political implications. He introduces us to the concept of passive safety, which builds on the idea that responsibility for radioactive waste can be delegated to geological formations underground to ensure safety in the long term. Given the widespread social and political attitude to rely on techno-scientific expertise, he urges us to move away from asking whether or not a problem can be solved – in this case by deep geological repositories – and to focus on what kind of science is actually involved.
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03/CHRISTINE VON WEIZSÄCKER on Why Technofixes Won’t Save Us
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- BEYOND THE FIX Podcast
In this episode we look at the technofix narrative, its relationship to innovation and precaution, and ask why it has become so prevalent when it comes to addressing (socio-)ecological problems. We also discuss alternatives and why the complexity of living systems requires different approaches.
Our guest, Christine von Weizsäcker, is a biologist and President of Ecoropa – the European Network for Ecological Reflection and Action. She has been involved in the negotiations of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, its Protocols and in the follow up to the Earth Summit in Rio for many years. She is a vocal advocate of the Rio principles of precaution, polluter-pays and public participation.
Christine introduces us to the important role that technofixes have played in environmental policy, which is linked to a narrow understanding of innovation. She calls for critical, i.e. differentiating, and multidisciplinary approaches. She also points to importance of considering long-term and far-reaching impacts of scientific and technological proposals that promise to solve singled out aspects of the multiple and interlinked current crises. Christine also shares valuable insights into the power of framing in public perception and politics.
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02/JÉRÔME SANTOLINI on Science and Regulatory Policy: The Example of Meat Curing with Nitrite
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- BEYOND THE FIX Podcast
In this episode we look at a relatively old industrial fix: the use of nitrite—a toxic chemical—for curing processed meat on a large scale. It’s a compelling case study to explore how regulatory policies are shaped and the complex role science plays in that process.
Our guest, Dr. Jérôme Santolini, a biochemist and research director at the Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell at the University of Paris-Saclay, heads the Oxidative Stress and Detoxification Laboratory. He tells us about the biotoxicological mechanisms behind using nitrite to preserve meat and uncovers the historical origins of why a known a poison became a key tool in food preservation.
Jérôme sheds light on the intricate roles nitrites (and other nitric oxides) play in the human body, their effects, and their potential carcinogenic risks. He also offers his perspective on how we can approach meat curing—and eating—more thoughtfully. Drawing on the lessons of the failed nitrite regulation in France, he advocates for a more reflective approach to knowledge production: one that prioritises deep understanding over the relentless pursuit of data – a proposition that is relevant far beyond the example of meat curing.
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Veranstaltung Zeller Sept20
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