Integrating geoscience into the European Green Deal
The European Green Deal sets ambitious targets, including reaching climate neutrality in Europe by 2050, addressing biodiversity loss and restoring degraded ecosystems, and adopting a zero-pollution action plan for air, water, and soils. Achieving these bold targets will require scientific expertise from many different geoscience areas. This Union Symposium will feature presentations from scientists and policymakers, as well as a moderated discussion on how geoscientists can best support the Green Deal’s targets. Despite being a European-specific initiative, the Green Deal also outlines missions working with non-EU countries, so this session will be of interest to an international audience.
US1: 09:00 –11:00
Post-COVID Geosciences
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major trauma for humanity. This event has triggered calls for scientifically-based responses to mitigate the risks and build resilience to this virus and its potential successors. Geoscience communities have contributed to these efforts, drawing on their expertise, even while facing their own pandemic upheavals. This Union Symposium will highlight the geoscience contributions to understanding this pandemic. We will also discuss how these skills might be used to better understand zoonotic spillovers, transmission pathways, and the role of the environment on disease both during the coronavirus pandemic, and for future events.
US2: 15:00 –17:00
Writing, publishing, and reviewing scientific papers: two Short Courses
These two complementary sessions feature discussions about writing, publishing, and reviewing journal articles in the geosciences. SC2.15 will feature a panel discussion with a group of experts who will each give a brief presentation sharing their experience in scientific writing, followed by an open discussion. SC2.16 will feature a panel of the Editors-in-Chief of four journals. Discussion topics may include: the duties and roles of editors, authors, and reviewers; how to choose a journal; the benefits of open peer-review; potential obstacles of inter-/transdisciplinary research publications; and ethics in publishing.
‘Picture A Scientist’ film screening
Picture A Scientist chronicles the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists. Biologist Nancy Hopkins, chemist Raychelle Burks, and geologist Jane Willenbring lead viewers on a journey deep into their own experiences in the sciences, ranging from brutal harassment to years of subtle slights. Along the way, we encounter social scientists, neuroscientists, and psychologists, among other expets, who provide new perspectives on how to make science itself more diverse, equitable, and open to all. As a vEGU21 participant, you can view the movie anytime from the morning of Sat. 24 April through 9:00 CEST Tues. 27 April.
Please also join the Great Debate on Mon 26 Apr at 15:00 CEST to hear Prof. Jane Willenbring, one of the geoscientists featured in the film, as well as Richard Pancost, Elisabeth Gallant, and Christopher Jackson, discuss how to challenge discrimination in the geosciences.
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