The politicisation of science
- Shreya, Upper VI
Science is seen on the news everywhere - be it a new scientific discovery, new knowledge on climate change, or new legislation passed. Politicians can use science to further their political agenda, while also changing the course of history.
One area of scientific discovery where politics directly influences how science is implemented is the fight against climate change and global warming. The idea that the planet is heating up due to human activity has been known since 1938 when the English engineer Guy Callendar linked the rising carbon dioxide levels to global warming. Yet the idea of stopping climate change, or at least hindering climate change has only come about in more recent times. This is due to the idea of climate change becoming more wellknown to the general public, hence increasing the need for politicians to take measures against climate change.
The main aim of a political party in any country is to gain enough votes to be elected into their respective parliament. One way to do this is to gain the support of the younger generation (the generation that will soon make up the majority of votes). By supporting ideas the more youthful generation believes are important, a political party can ensure that at least some of them may vote. Climate change is a problem that will cause an issue for this generation and the next,
therefore we, as gen z, are more passionate about hindering climate change. Consequently, more and more of the world’s politicians are turning towards the fight against climate change.
A clear example of how climate change can directly affect an election of a country is the 2020 election for a new President in the USA: Trump vs Biden. Trump was known for being extremely right-winged with his ideologies, including building a wall dividing Mexico and the USA, “making America great again during”, his time during the COVID-19 pandemic, and calling global warming “a hoax”. Yet Biden was known for almost the opposite: he stated that he will roll out vaccines for COVID-19 and help fight against climate change. As a result, Biden had higher votes and became the next President.
Without political influence, implementing science on a global scale would be almost impossible, however, science has also been used as a weapon to further political agenda for generations. Perhaps this should be thought about when voting in the next election.
