EGU Splinter Meeting: The role of science in today’s society

We are organizing a EGU splinter meeting for TRR members and participants of our EGU session OS4.4 on Wednesday, 26th April, starting at 6:45 PM at Das Packhaus (https://www.daspackhaus.at/), Vienna.

The meeting will include a panel discussion on “The role of science in today’s society”. The panelists are:

• David Stainforth (Climate Science, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment),
• Kirsten von Elverfeldt (Geography, University Klagenfurt; active member of Scientists for Future),
• Mario Scharfbillig (Behavioural Economics and Public Policy, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission),
• Hildrun Walter (Science Communication, University Graz).

Panel discussion description:

Science is an integral part of our society. From facilitating the ease of lifestyle with the aid of technology to unravelling the mysteries of the universe and the life around us, science has been at the forefront of shaping our society by advancing our knowledge for centuries. Yet, a communication gap persists between scientists and society that at times acts as a barrier to the free exchange of knowledge, resulting in lack of understanding or misinterpretation of scientific facts related to various phenomena that affect the society as a whole. The necessity and importance of such an exchange between science and society has never been more apparent than in recent years, when the world has been grappling with multiple crises of global scale, most notably the COVID pandemic and the ongoing climate crisis. It is of fundamental importance that there exists a public discourse between science and society to counter alarming scenarios of conspiracy theories and twisted facts and that trust of society in science is retained. As we brace ourselves to tackle such planetary crises, we must seek to promote discourse between science and society and be part of the solution together. The TRR181 Splinter Meeting at EGU2023 aims to address these points in a discussion on the pressing societal issues with a panel of scientists with varied expertise.