This World Science Day for Peace and Development, I am writing from Antalya, at COP31, where nearly 200 countries are negotiating. Climate science keeps reminding us what is happening, how fast and what it will take to change course.
Twenty years ago, then-US vice president Al Gore walked onto a stage with a slideshow and carried that science from the lab into the hearts and minds of millions with his award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth. The science is sharper today. So painful are its consequences. Attribution science tells us, within days, how much climate change worsened the flood, fire or drought. The science in clear. The question, as it has always been, is what we do with it.
In our work at the World Resources Institute (WRI), we use studies and data to support communities, NGOs, governments and businesses to drive evidence-based programming and policy making. The strength of research-based organisations is that they connect rigorous evidence to the policy makers who shape the world, and to the citizens and advocates who hold them accountable.
For years, climate change was the subject of misinformation and political contestation. Some dismissed it as an exaggeration, others questioned if human activities were responsible, with others calling it a hoax. Yet through decades of research, observation and collaboration, we have established an increasingly clearer understanding of what is happening to our communities as a result of the impacts on our planet.
Human activities are driving global warming. We understand how this is accelerating biodiversity loss, melting glaciers, raising sea levels and intensifying extreme weather events. We have developed a much clearer picture of the interventions needed to address the challenges.
Multilateral breakthrough
This kind of understanding led to a major multilateral breakthrough in Paris at COP21 in 2015. The world forged the Paris Agreement, a legally binding treaty which was adopted by 195 parties. It was a landmark agreement, even close to a miracle and the culmination of what science can accomplish when agreed upon by different countries.
While the agreement has not fully been followed, it continues to guide climate diplomacy. Before it, the planet was hurtling towards up to 4.8°C of warming by 2100. If all countries honour their commitments, the world is projected to warm by 2.3°C or more. This is still a dangerous prospect.
In Kenya, the fight against climate change is not abstract. Science shapes the fate of our livelihoods, forests, biodiversity and future. The Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) has turned knowledge into action, leading forestry research and putting science, technologies and innovations into the hands of the people who need them. This year, KEFRI marks 40 years since its founding. It has grown the nation’s tree cover by producing and distributing high-quality seed. It has pioneered technologies to heal degraded forests and watersheds. The momentum is building. From November 24 to 26, KEFRI will host its 6th Scientific Conference and Exhibition, bringing together researchers and innovators to advance forestry for landscape restoration, climate action and livelihoods.
In 2029, Nairobi will make history as host of the IUFRO World Congress, the world’s premier forestry research event, on African soil for the first time. I am energised by what we can do together with KEFRI to advance the building of structures of the near future.
KEFRI’s decades of bamboo research can be turned into a new way of building, and into nature-based solutions that protect and restore degraded landscapes, from riverbanks to whole watersheds.
These examples remind us that science is fundamental to development, prosperity and our ability to live sustainably. Investing in agricultural research, renewable energy, meteorological services and biodiversity monitoring can help us address some of our most pressing challenges.
We must not only benefit from scientific discoveries made elsewhere but also strengthen our own research institutions and develop the technologies and innovations needed to shape our future.
Scientific knowledge and diplomacy without action and implementation is not enough. We need real political will over successive years to ensure that we see adequate results. As COP31 unfolds, let’s remember that the negotiations taking place are underpinned by years of research. Science gives us the evidence, diplomacy provides the common ground, but political leadership must deliver the action at a regional, country and sub-national level. We have come a long way in understanding our landscapes and developing solutions to protect them and our place in them. We cannot afford to relent. Our future depends on what science has taught us, and on what we choose to do with that Knowledge.
Ms Mathai is the MD for Africa & Global Partnerships at the World Resources Institute and Chair of Wangari Maathai Foundation
