STEPS Centre Annual Symposium 2013 – Credibility Across Cultures: expertise, uncertainty and the global politics of scientific advice, 6-7 February 2013. Professor Anne Glover CBE, Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission keynote lecture.

1. STEPS Centre Annual Symposium, University of Sussex, 6 Feb 2013
What is the right balance
between respecting evidence
and living in the real world?
Professor Anne Glover CBE
Chief Scientific Adviser
to the President of the European Commission

2. STEPS Centre Annual Symposium, University of Sussex, 6 Feb 2013
European leaders will discuss
tomorrow whether to spend
80 billion Euro for research
and innovation

3. STEPS Centre Annual Symposium, University of Sussex, 6 Feb 2013
Science and technology
are part of everybody’s life

4. STEPS Centre Annual Symposium, University of Sussex, 6 Feb 2013
We accept the
benefits – do we
accept the risks?

5. STEPS Centre Annual Symposium, University of Sussex, 6 Feb 2013
Risk perception and evidence
are two different things
Percentage of world
energy production
Estimated deaths
per Terawatt hour
Source: www.susannahertrich.com

6. STEPS Centre Annual Symposium, University of Sussex, 6 Feb 2013
Risk perception influences
public opinion and, hence,
behaviour of politicians

7. STEPS Centre Annual Symposium, University of Sussex, 6 Feb 2013
Societal perception of GMOs
Society A: GMOs are safe unless proven unsafe
Society B: GMOs are unsafe unless proven safe
Society C: GMOs are unsafe even if proven safe
Society D: GMOs are unsafe especially if proven safe
Society E: GMOs are safe even if proven unsafe
(taken from A. Golikov)

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“GMO-free” municipalities in Flanders, Belgium
Source: Guy van den Eede

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GMO approval
Member States voting on EFSA scientific opinion
Source: EuropaBio, Approvals of GMOs
in the European Union, Oct. 2011

10. STEPS Centre Annual Symposium, University of Sussex, 6 Feb 2013
Salient points of EU GMO policy
• A rigorous safety assessment by the
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
based on the best possible science
• Post-market monitoring
• Labelling of GMOs and derived food
and feed products at all stages (when
present above 0.9%)
• Traceability from the point of
production or import down to the table
and vice versa
• Co-existence between organic,
traditional and GM plant from the seed
throughout the production chain

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www.climatepedia.org
Do we trust
scientific evidence?

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Public support for
science is decreasing
Source: Eurobarometer, Special Edition 340 “Science and Technology” (2010)

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“Because of their knowledge, scientists have a power that makes them dangerous”
Source:
Eurobarometer,
Special Edition 340
“Science and
Technology” (2010)

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Scientific evidence
is sound and peer-
reviewed.
It evolves over time,
but it doesn’t change
from one government
to the next.

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So what’s the problem then?
• The world has become much more
complex (and, hence, confusing)
• The pace of technological change has
increased
• People believe that "unwanted" new
technologies can be somehow de-invented
• Lack of information about the benefits of new
technologies vis-à-vis the risks

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Why do we always discuss risk assessments -
Why not discuss reward assessments?

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As a society we need to
take risks to make progress

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If we don't take the risk, others will take it!
Source: European Commission

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Large Hadron Collider, Geneva
The risk: Spending billions of pounds
for a machine that smashes particles

20. STEPS Centre Annual Symposium, University of Sussex, 6 Feb 2013
The reward:
an unplanned "collateral" invention
that has changed our lives

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© National Gepgraphic
We need to put risk in relation
to reward to be able to take
informed decisions

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Communication
is the key
• Scientists need to show
empathy for public concerns
• Scientists need to be honest
about the facts they have
and those they don't have
• Scientists need to
communicate much more
proactively – otherwise
lobby groups will fill the void
• Scientists need to speak a
language everybody
understands

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But you always need two to tango:
We also need politicians who…
• are open to listen to the
scientific evidence
• don’t cherry-pick just the
science that suits their
view of the world
• are transparent about their
motivation when – for
whatever good reason –
they choose to ignore the
evidence

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All fine, but:
© Winfried Götzinger
Scientists love uncertainty,
while politicians hate it

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What can science do about it?
• Reduce uncertainty as far
as possible
• Communicate uncertainty
by using illustrative
examples
• Offer options for action
rather than claiming to
have the ultimate solution
• Flag where there is strong
consensus in the scientific
community, without
Old style of communicating ignoring minority opinions

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Scientific consensus is a powerful tool
Banning Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
Banning Dichlorodiphenyl-
trichloroethane (DDT)
Banning Asbestos

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Example: Revision of the Biofuels Directive
in the light of scientific evidence

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The science-policy interface needs
translators who are respected
on both sides to advise on
what is consensus and what not

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Wouldn't it be nice
if each EU Member
State had a Chief
Scientific Adviser
or its equivalent?
Government Chief Scientific Advisers
in the EU / EU Member States

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It costs a lot of
efforts to generate
http://www.ediblegeography.com/glacial-terroir
scientific evidence.
We shouldn't waste it.

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Thank you for your attention!
E-mail: ec-csa@ec.europa.eu
Twitter: EU_ScienceChief