No “heavy” Swiss climate researcher at the COP27: Science’s displeasure is growing Fix: SP relies on women’s ticket for the Sommaruga successor – the most important in 4 points

When the first world climate conference – the COP1 – took place in Berlin in 1995, Thomas Stocker from Bern was also present. He is one of the most renowned climate researchers in Switzerland and has headed the Department of Climate and Environmental Physics at the University of Bern for almost thirty years. As the 27th World Climate Conference in Egypt draws to a close, Stocker has to watch from a distance as the Swiss delegation led by environmental ambassador Franz Perrez negotiates measures with other countries to combat climate change.

The 63-year-old is annoyed that no well-known climate expert is part of the delegation: “It would be very important not only to have political discussions at such world climate conferences, but also to include the latest scientific results. But there are important representatives for this. of science in the delegation.” Particularly for Switzerland as a country that is known for its “powerful, interdisciplinary climate research” and invests a lot of money in it, involving science at international conferences is extremely important, according to Stocker: “It would not only increase Switzerland’s credibility, but can also help to increase the acceptance of certain measures by providing scientific justification for them.”

Representatives from WWF, Helvetas and the trade association

The Swiss negotiating delegation in Sharm el-Sheikh consists of twelve members, including representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and the Ministry of the Environment (UVEK). The delegation is accompanied by three representatives of civil society. These include Patrick Hofstetter of the WWF, Rupa Mukerji of the development organization Helvetas and Henrique Schneider of the Swiss Trade Association. We always try to keep the delegation as small as possible in order to keep the emissions of the flights to a minimum, says Géraldine Eicher, who accompanies the delegation in Egypt and is responsible for communication.

Eicher cannot agree with the accusation that science receives too little attention: after all, Géraldine Pfluger of the University of Geneva supports the delegation on scientific questions. Incidentally, the professor of urban and environmental policy was not elected by the federal government, but nominated by the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) as a representative of science.

And further: “The close interaction between science and politics is an important focus of the UVEK.” That is precisely why federal councilor Sommaruga transferred the climate advisory mandate to Proclim at the beginning of this year. This forum could “better answer the complex questions of climate challenges” than its predecessor organization OcCC, which acted as the environment ministry’s climate advisory board. This is because Proclim has broad support and, unlike the OcCC, scientists from different backgrounds are represented.

New federal councilors must provide a climate advisory council

In scientific circles, the dissolution of the OcCC’s mandate a year ago sparked discussions that resonate to this day. Stocker is therefore not the only one who wants climate research to be heard more in politics and administration. In a recent interview with CH Media, environmental economist Renate Schubert also expressed concern that Switzerland would fall behind in the international discourse without coordinated exchange between the science and the Federal Council as a whole. She therefore very much “hopes that Switzerland will once again establish a scientific climate advisory council during the by-elections in the Federal Council and the subsequent change of leadership in the departments”.

And prominent climate researcher Reto Knutti of ETH Zurich believes that “the cooperation between politics and science as well as the dialogue with the public in Switzerland still has a lot of room for improvement”. Switzerland is currently off track when it comes to the Paris climate goals and there is no clear plan on how to achieve these goals. “An independent, classifying and explanatory voice that identifies blind spots can support the credibility of political decisions,” Knutti is convinced. (aargauerzeitung.ch)