Science under threat

Scientific research and innovation advance our economic, social and cultural wellbeing, provide health benefits and are key to a sustainable long-term future. However, we live in times of great geopolitical, technological, environmental and demographic change, and the values that have driven science for the benefit of humanity are under threat. 

There are threats to science funding due to financial pressures. Ideological agendas are being used to suppress research, threaten academic freedom and to cut funding. Scientific evidence and those who advocate for it are under attack by those who wish to undermine rational debate. Platforms that should facilitate open, transparent debate are giving free rein to harmful misinformation and ideological attacks on people and ideas. Equality is under attack and that threatens our global community of scientists – a community that is strongest when everyone can contribute, regardless of who they are or where they come from.

The Royal Society will use its voice and the expertise of our Fellows to resist the various challenges to science. 

Governments can spend their taxpayer money as they see fit but cutting science will harm growth. Science is a global collaboration and so cuts in one country can affect everyone. If cuts to science are ideologically driven, we will surrender one of the most valuable commodities, the evidence-based thinking and innovation that protects and improves lives.

Vaccines, for example, have saved countless lives over the decades, eradicating many diseases and protecting us from others. New vaccines are being developed to prevent cancers and other diseases. Like all medicines, they are not perfect, they can have side-effects, and the risk has to be balanced against the benefit both for society and for the individual. That requires open transparent debate, based on the scientific evidence.  

Climate change is another example. Human induced climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels and other activities has increased the risk of extreme weather, caused sea level rise, and threatened ecosystems, lives and livelihoods across the world. We all need to take more ambitious action now to reduce the risks of dangerous climate change, while preserving and restoring nature.

The Royal Society also stands for equality, diversity and inclusion. Science should be open to everyone, without barriers that prevent people from reaching their full potential. A scientific community that is as diverse and inclusive as possible can only improve what it is able to achieve.

The Royal Society is defined by the principles of open, transparent, decision making based on scientific evidence. The freedom of researchers to follow the scientific evidence is a key pillar of progress and where it is threatened, we put at risk the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.