Photo/Illutration The leaders of the participating countries and organizations gather for a group photo at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit on Nov. 12 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo)

Three years ago, scientists in Australia and New Zealand proposed suspending climate change research until the governments of nations around the world fulfilled their responsibilities.

The scientists had just participated in the compilation of that year’s report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

They did not win the support of other climate experts. But why in heaven’s name did they come up with the drastic call for a “research strike”?

It was due to their sense of crisis and frustration. Global warming had been scientifically proven to be caused by greenhouse gases emitted by humans, but countries around the world were not doing anything to really help avert the crisis.

In a survey by a British scientific journal on experts who have been involved in the publication of IPCC reports, 61 percent of the respondents answered “yes” to the question of whether global warming made them feel “anxiety, sorrow or other painful sentiments.”

I wonder how many scientists are becoming pessimistic about their efforts to help society with their research.

As brutal heat, floods, wildfires and other extreme weather episodes continue around the world, the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) is now under way in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The main focus of COP29 is to secure new climate financing to aid developing countries, but will the developed nations agree to provide the massive funding that is needed?

Of particular concern is the fact that American voters have chosen Donald Trump to be their next president, a man who has pledged to increase fossil fuel production with the call: “Frack, frack, frack. And drill, baby drill.”

Having pulled America out of the Paris Agreement during his previous presidency, Trump has already declared he would do so again.

And among the names he has announced for his Cabinet, I see those who could hardly be considered as “pro-science.”

What will happen to our planet when, under a leader who adamantly rejects science and thinks only about his own nation’s interests, more scientists begin to feel their research efforts will be in vain?

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 16

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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