Embrace Science.  It’s The Way To Shape A Sustainable Future!

By Sibgha A

The role that science can play in shaping a sustainable future is widely recognized, more so at a time of accelerated technological development with mounting environmental crises.  On matters concerning climate change, resource depletion and biodiversity loss, integrating scientific research into global policy and practice is the way forward for the achievement of sustainability.  Our faith in science can lead to the sustainable future we deserve, and nothing less than a global approach will work for our complex problems.

The optimal balance among economic growth, protection of the environment, and social equity constitutes sustainable development.  It follows from the application of scientific advancement in renewable energy technologies to innovation in agricultural practices, laying down the very bases for the pursuit of sustainable solutions that cause the least harm to the environment while securing economic and social welfare.

For example, solar and wind energy-related breakthroughs have dramatically shifted the reliance from fossil fuels to now cleaner options in mitigating GHG emissions. Meanwhile, breakthroughs in agricultural science made crops more resilient to changes in climate and further secured food security for increasingly large populations.

International Scientific Research Cooperation

Sustainability challenges are intrinsically global and require international cooperation and collaboration.  International science crosses borders in dealing with common problems by diverse fields of expertise from different parts of the world.  This will, therefore, underline the necessity of a global approach in coming up with a solution that is not only effective, but also fair and adaptable to contexts differing culturally and geographically.

Global scientific networks have also unprecedentedly advanced research on climate change, with data and findings shared across continents.  One such example is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.  It pools research from thousands of scientists to inform global climate policies.  Under such collaboration, and considering varied impacts in different regions, solutions can be based on a comprehensive understanding of the problem.

In this respect, science acts not only as a catalyst for public policy and innovation, which are both prominent ways through which sustainability can be achieved.  Evidence-based policy, on this count, must therefore be based upon scientific research.  Decisions with an impact on the environment or society should have appropriate grounding in science.  For instance, policies relating to carbon emissions, waste, and conservation all rest upon scientific data quantifying the risks and benefits associated with different approaches.

Beyond that, science may well be the means towards innovation, which can also bring new technologies and practices that greatly lessen harm to the environment.  Inventions from scientific enterprise include technologies for capturing and storing carbon, biodegradable materials, and more benign urban planning — all to lessen humanity’s ecological footprint.

The Need for a Global Perspective

Even as it is science that might provide answers, the application must be global in perspective. Different parts of the world have problems existing at variance with sustainable development, such as arid regions prone to drought and tropical areas with massive deforestation.  That will not work on one-size-fits-all approaches.  On the other hand, these solutions should be attuned to the needs and conditions of each region, drawing on both local knowledge and expertise at one end and the global scientific leap at the other.

Briefly, sustainable development is inconceivable without science.  The contribution science can bring to sustainable development through new knowledge, tools, and innovation is obvious. The challenges, however, of sustainable development are worldwide.  This then requires that each solution be international.  If scientific research is integrated with a view to globality in all its dimensions, then one can find sustainable solutions that will be efficient and fair to secure a better future for everybody.