No Place to Hide from Climate Change

Originally delivered as part of a panel at the Villars Symposium on the role of planetary boundary research in policy, this piece followed the 2025 Frontiers Planet Prize Awards Ceremony, where Executive Director Jean-Claude Burgelman offered a compelling call to action.

The panel included: Prof Johan Rockström (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research), Robert-Jan Smits (Eindhoven University of Technology), Dr Inge Jonckheere (European Space Agency), and Dr Salvatore Aricò (International Science Council), moderated by Prof Burgelman.

Published on August 28th, 2025

No Place to Hide: Science Is the Foundation of Policy

(A video keynote)

2024 signalled a turning point. For the first time, global average temperatures surpassed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. We are in the midst of a climate crisis; it is no longer distant or abstract. We must ask ourselves: Are we doing enough, or are we hiding in our corners? In the face of climate change, there is truly no place to hide. DG CLIMA has set the precedent; they are not hiding. Over the past five years, the European Green Deal has been the number one priority at the European Commission. Under the leadership of President von der Leyen, long-standing silos have been broken down, and climate action has become everyone’s business.

Without science, climate policy flies blind

We must change the narrative on climate policy. It is not just about protecting the planet or the environment; it is a bedrock of our security and a critical contributor to economic growth and long-term independence. Delaying action on climate policy puts far more than our ecosystems at risk. Vital natural systems such as forests, wetlands, and oceans are under threat, but so too is our economic resilience. Science has been clear about the costs of inaction. Conservative models project a 7% loss in EU GDP by the end of the century if strong mitigation efforts are not pursued. Some global projections warn of losses reaching up to 60% of GDP by 2100 if we continue on a high-emissions path. And these figures only tell part of the story. They do not account for the human cost: lives lost, communities displaced, and the growing risk of crossing irreversible tipping points.

Science is the foundation of all credible climate action. The EU’s climate targets for 2030 and 2050, its climate law, and the upcoming 2040 framework all trace their roots to scientific evidence, driven in particular by data collected by the IPCC. We need clear, evidence-based answers on how to protect infrastructure, food systems, and public health. Science must lead the way.

Step out of your silo: The case for transformational solutions

Climate solutions require a holistic approach, playing to the strengths of all disciplines to create a truly transdisciplinary, intergenerational, and, therefore, transformational approach. We need natural sciences to explain, applied sciences to solve, and social sciences to understand how people will respond. Technology and innovation are essential breakthroughs in clean energy. Carbon removal and adaptation can accelerate this transition. Climate change affects every sector of society, so we need expertise from every field. From forestry to health, agriculture, engineering, economics, sociology, and so much more. Every discipline has a role. Every contribution counts.

Effective climate action starts with how we share knowledge. This is why we need behavioural and social sciences. We need effective science communication. What drives people to change? What makes policies stick? These are the questions we must ask. Policy succeeds only when people take action as a result. We need answers that are grounded in evidence and real-world context. Scientific knowledge has little impact within the confines of journals and conference rooms. Excellent science communication that is clear, timely, and policy-ready will pave the way. This is essential to bridge the gap between researchers and decision-makers. There are no shortcuts, and we must rely on persistence, vision, and funding to build environmental resilience. We owe it to ALL generations to do more, and fast.

Knowledge in practice: Answering the call to action

A new climate adaptation plan

Last year’s European climate risk assessment gave us a stark picture of Europe’s vulnerabilities, it was a call to action. The DG CLIMA is answering this call by putting together a climate adaptation plan, ready to be adopted in 2026. There will be three core goals:

1. To clarify who owns which climate risk, using a shared reference scenario

2. To embed resilience by design across all EU policies and investments

3. To empower citizens and businesses by giving them easy access to climate hazard data and solutions

The European Commission will also be launching a second climate risk assessment to keep our knowledge current.

Resilience by design: strong ecosystems, stronger policies

Resilience is being mainstreamed across all EU policy. This includes the Preparedness Union Strategy, Competitiveness Compass, and the new Vision for agriculture and food. Furthermore, the Common Agricultural Policy should be reformed to support climate-resilient farming. DG CLIMA is, and will be, backing new crop techniques, better insurance tools, and more incentives for local adaptation. The aim is to help farmers not just survive, but thrive, in a changing climate.

Financial planning strategies are also informed by climate science. In the upcoming EU budget, future-focused climate scenarios will be used to guide investments. Every euro spent to mitigate climate risk will be future-proofed. Scientific breakthroughs can only come from long-term investment in Research & Development.

Thank you to the research community

None of this would be possible without the research community. Their work underpins every step taken for climate action. For this, they are owed a sincere thanks. To provide sustained support, the EU remains a top global funder of climate research through the brand new Choose Europe initiative, enabling researchers to work on projects where they can truly make a difference. Still, we must all ask ourselves: are we doing enough? The scale of the challenge demands that we do more and do it faster. Science gives us the tools, the insight, and the promise of a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient future. It gives us the reason to act and the belief that, by working together, we will rise to meet this moment. 

Copyright: © 2025 [author(s)]. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in Frontiers Policy Labs is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. 

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