World scientists to G8: Focus on energy, water, disaster risks

There’s the G8, the G20 and, now, the G-Science.

In advance of the next G8 Summit, national science academies from 15 countries are urging world leaders to put more focus on several of the planet’s “most pressing challenges.” These include:

• The growing global demand for two highly interdependent resources:  energy and water;
• The growing need to build greater resilience to disasters, both natural and technological; and
• Better ways to assess national greenhouse gas emissions to verify countries are working to meet their own climate goals or international commitments.

In terms of energy and water, the science academies state, “A systems approach based on specific regional circumstances and long-term planning is essential. Viewing each factor separately will lead to inefficiencies, added stress on water availability for food production and for critical ecosystems, and a higher risk of major failures or shortages in energy supply.”

In advocating for greater efforts to build resilience, the academies offer five recommendations to G8 leaders:

• Do more to regularly identify and monitor the host of disaster risks confronting society;
• Strengthen public health systems — not just for people, but for animals and crops too — to avoid disasters where possible and improve responses when they occur;
• Use advanced information technology more to improve disaster monitoring, identification, warnings and responses;
• Research and establish planning and engineering standards to reduce the vulnerability of infrastructure to disaster; and
• Make “resilience capacity building” — public education, for example — a part of development assistance programs.