{"id":335379,"date":"2024-07-03T07:31:39","date_gmt":"2024-07-03T05:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=335379"},"modified":"2024-07-03T07:31:42","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T05:31:42","slug":"should-more-scientists-offer-their-service-as-our-green-leaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=335379","title":{"rendered":"Should More Scientists Offer their Service as Our Green Leaders?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by Eric Worrall<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PHD student Sanam Mahoozi<\/a> asks whether we should all follow Mexico\u2019s example and elect scientist leaders like former German Chancellor Angela Merkel to guide us through the climate crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Can Scientist Leaders Help Countries Fight Climate Change More Effectively?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sanam Mahoozi<\/a>
Contributor
Jun 29, 2024,01:33pm EDT
Updated Jun 30, 2024, 02:21am EDT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early June, Mexico made history by electing its first-ever female president, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, a scientist with a background in physics and advanced degrees in energy engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her victory<\/a> has since sparked a discussion about whether leaders with scientific expertise can have a positive impact on pushing forward climate policies worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, the combination has been a boon for environmental causes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, Margaret Thatcher, the former UK Prime Minister, was a trained chemist who raised awareness about global warming in a powerful speech<\/a> at the United Nations in 1989 back when a lot of people weren\u2019t taking the issue that seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there is Angela Merkel, the former Chancellor of Germany, who with a doctorate in quantum chemistry, played a significant role in advocating<\/a> for the 2015 Paris Agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s see what Rachel Kyte<\/a>, professor of practice in climate policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford said about this topic in an interview with Forbes via email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For women, \u201cwe can look at a number of leaders who have a science background, if not climate science, who have been able to lead their countries into ambition on climate action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMargaret Thatcher and Angela Merkel come immediately to mind. They were able to ask questions of the scientists and understand its implications for action, unrelated to the ideological position of their parties,\u201d whether conservative, religious or liberal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s see what Dr. Peter Gleick<\/a>, member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, co-founder and Senior Fellow of the Pacific Institute said about this topic in an interview with Forbes via email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026Read more:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/sanammahoozi\/2024\/06\/29\/can-scientist-leaders-help-countries-fight-climate-change-more-effectively\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Scientific knowledge isn\u2019t an automatic guarantee of political competence. The disastrous mishandling of the Peter Ridd academic freedom case demonstrates that groups of scientists are just as prone to making bad decisions as anyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peter Ridd\u2019s James Cook University \u201cDramatic Drop in Student Enrolment\u201d \u2013 Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angela Merkel was also a political incompetent, in my opinion. She might have been a motivated advocate of green policies, but her green policies were largely responsible for Germany\u2019s energy crisis.\u00a0Merkel\u2019s 2011 decision to shut down Germany\u2019s nuclear reactors<\/a>\u00a0increased Germany\u2019s dependence on Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Germany\u2019s Energy Crisis: The Perils of Delusional Virtue Signaling \u2013 Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

here was plenty of warning Russia was an unreliable energy partner. President Trump tried to warn Germany about the consequences of its reckless energy policy in 2018, when Merkel was still in charge. The German diplomats laughed in Trump\u2019s face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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