Fwd: Who we are - International Science Council
Ron Baiman
From: Barbara Sneath <bjsn...@meer.org>
Date: Tue, Jun 25, 2024 at 8:32 PM
Subject: Who we are - International Science Council
To: Ron Baiman <rpba...@gmail.com>
--
Michael MacCracken
Dear Ron and Barbara--Sorry to be late on this
one. International science is organized on two tracks, one
(representing the views of governments) is up (or maybe down)
through the United Nations, so to the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) [of which NOAA is the US agency member],
UNESCO, World Health Organization, UN Commission on Sustainable
Development, etc. These entities can jointly sponsor entities,
one being the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change,. And
they are hosts to treaties on various topics (such as trade,
money, development banks, and so on).
The other is up through the scientific community,
with the countries represented by their National Academies of
Sciences (well, by disciplinary committees that they organize
that represent the country to each of the international
disciplinary organizations). The International Council of
Science (formerly, the International Council of Scientific
Unions, or ICSU, which I think is still used as the acronym for
the International Scientific Council) is at the peak of all of
this on the scientific side. So, it has purview over a few dozen
entities, including the International Union of Geodesy and
Geophysics (IUGG) which has 8 subsidiary Associations, one being
the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric
Sciences (IAMAS) of which I was president from 2003-2007 [other
of their associations cover hydrology, the cryosphere, aeronomy,
etc.] and IAMAS has a number of commissions, one of which is the
International Climate Commission (ICC) of which I was president
of for a while way back starting in the 1990s. Major efforts of
all these entities is convening meetings and symposia that bring
international scientists together--and these entities do a lot
of things jointly. Some of these entities also set scientific
standards for various things, organize international projects,
etc. and most pass resolutions about this or that situation--and
I was involved in some of the iUGG and IAMAS resolutions on
climate change.
And then there are entities that bridge across the
two major streams, one being the Joint Scientific Committee that
is responsible for leading the World Climate Program, which is
jointly sponsored by WMO and ICSU, etc. and I think the IPCC has
such joint sponsorship.
So, the scientific side, while being sponsored by national academies of science, is intended to speak truth about the science to governments independent of national views, and do so to the first side mentioned above (which may at times call for such views). It is the government side that has the money (including the piddling amount they spend to sponsor national academies that sponsor the scientific side) and the power to take action, so it is the side that sets up global observations networks.
In addition to these two formal sides (as one
might call them), there are the non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) of all sorts of types that speak out to whomever they
want to and act as they think best, generally saying that they
are representing the public (this is where our entities work to
be effective). One of the more formal of such entities is the
Climate Overshoot Commission, that I think is sort of
independently sponsored--and I think would be a group to work
through.
And then too are the corporate interests speaking out in their interests through professional societies and affiliations.
And then there is the media, some corporate
influenced, some not, movies, social media, etc. all putting out
information, and often not really clarifying from what
base/footing/perspective the view is coming, so whether it is
really authoritative or not, etc.
It all sort of makes sense, but is quite a complex system. Figuring out where best to push to get action is a real challenge. The entities pass resolutions and send letters to communicate among themselves calling for action, but can be rather ponderous, especially as the entities all tend to want to come to consensus among their members, whether nations, scientists, or others, and do try to be cognizant of the situations in the entities they contact. Given all of this, things do work pretty well in many sectors--meteorological measurements are taken in the same way around the world, public health practices are similar around the world, etc., etc.
So, with respect to thinking of writing the International Science Council, it is not just some independent entity--there is a whole structure to consider if you are thinking of gaining attention and making a difference.
Best, Mike MacCracken
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Barbara Sneath
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