In this post I would like to begin to outline a vision of global science as a force for the global good. A vision that is built on the belief that reason and truth must be important values in global affairs and that a global scientific community is the best way to ensure that these values are upheld.
Seeds of this vision are found in interventions of scientists in world affairs such as the recent letter of Nobel Prize Winners that "calls on all countries to jointly reduce military spending by 2% each year and instead contribute to a global fund to tackle climate change, pandemics and extreme poverty" (Put defence money into planetary emergencies, urge Nobel winners (nature.com)).
In our foresight we developed a view of global science for global good during the exercise that supported the 3rd Strategic Plan of Horizon 2020 (Strategic foresight - Publications Office of the EU (europa.eu)). In that work we linked explicitly global challenges with an opportunity for peace and the evolution of a global conscience. The title in the report was "Facing climate change, oceans and space as pacifying / unifying projects". It continued....
"The climate, the oceans and space are global commons which can give rise to pacifying / unifying projects for humanity as a whole. Many of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals require global governance related to the environment, resource use and climate change. The IPPC, a global scientific effort to help global governance, illustrates how research on climate change can help decisions dealing with global commons and can inspire other areas such oceans and space. Space exploration could constitute in itself a 'great challenge for humankind' for which nations could collaborate. ..... "
Since this work was published in 2016 there are more signs of a global conscience emerging around the vision of global science. Let's see if we can build it up.
