Keep politics out of science: expert
Controversy about climate science, global warming and genetically modified crops reinforces the importance of insulating science from political, ideological and religious influence, a leading British scientist says.
President of The Royal Society Paul Nurse says scientific advice should be based on the consensus of scientists who are experts in the area concerned, who are fully aware of conflicting explanations and the evidence on which these divergent views are based.
"As a further check this advice needs to be challenged through peer review carried out by other expert scientists to ensure the conclusions reached are reliable and secure," Sir Paul told some his peers at the University of Melbourne on Monday.
He says if there is no strong consensus it is important that should be reflected in the advice, homing in on the global warming debate to illustrate his point.
The consensus among climate scientists is that greenhouse gas is causing a rise in temperature but some scientists argue that's not the case, while others say it is rising faster than expected.
"A feature of this controversy is that those who deny that there is a problem often seem to have political or ideological views that lead them to be unhappy with the actions that would be necessary if global warming is due to human activity," Sir Paul said.
These actions could include greater world action, curtailing freedoms of individuals, companies and nations and curbing some industrial activity, potentially risking some economic growth.
"What appears to be happening is that the concerns of those worried about those types of action have led them to attack the scientific analysis of the majority of climate scientists with scientific arguments that are rather weak and unconvincing, often involving the cherry picking of data," he said.
That had been complicated by some climate scientists not being as open as possible about their data and the complexity of the science, which led to "uncertainties in a world that wants simple answers".
Sir Paul said this reinforces the need for a consensus view of scientists to provide advice for public policy.
"It also emphasises the need to keep the science as far as is possible from political, ideological and religious influence," he said.