Sandrine Dixson-Declève rightly denounces the slowness of the pace of work and the deliberations of the COP process in face of the climate crisis. She also says, again rightly so, that the science of climate change is clear, hence the sluggishness of the decision-making process on climate change appears particularly striking. I am paraphrasing Dixson-Declève’s piece, but I think I have it right: we need to act yesterday, we know enough and the current process is not fit for the outcomes we need. If my reading of her piece is correct, I fully endorse her plea for a decision-making process that does justice to the urgent and determined action we must take: reversing the course of adverse changes in our life-supporting climate system.

The International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA) was formed in 2014 under the sponsorship of the International Council of Science’s (ICSU, now the International Science Council (ISC)). Over 220 practitioners and academics at the science-policy interface from more than 40 countries, both developing and developed, attended an inaugural meeting in Auckland. The discussion focused on identifying the issues that challenged the provision of effective science advice to governments, a process which was very patchy across the globe. Ten years later, INGSA held its fifth global conference in Kigali, Rwanda.

Are the climate talks and COP (Conference of Parties) processes failing humanity? Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Co-president of The Club of Rome, recently warned that we are both failing on the Paris Agreement and to deliver action at the speed and scale necessary to avert the worst effects of global warming. She urges the United Nations to shift gears and radically transform the COP process, to ensure a safe and just future for humanity. If we’re going to avoid failure on climate, then safeguarding the global commons must be a focus.

Animal testing has long been a controversial issue in the European Union (EU), with growing public concern over the ethical and scientific limitations of relying on animal models for chemical safety assessments. Despite being seen as a “gold standard” in research and safety assessment, animal studies have limited applicability to human health, and are difficult to replicate due to poor reporting procedures and large variability.

Despite COP's mission to prevent dangerous climate change and keep global warming below 2°C, there is a stark gap between its goals and the inertia it reinforces among member states. We are failing on the Paris Agreement and delivering climate action too slowly to avert the worst impacts of global warming. The United Nations must shift gears to focus all efforts on meeting global goals by 2050, which requires a rapid and radical transformation of the COP process to ensure a safe climate future for humanity.

Collaboration between science, medicine, policymakers, and societies is essential for tackling major health emergencies and pandemics, highlights Brigitte Autran of Sorbonne Université and President of the French Committee for Monitoring and Anticipating Health Risks (COVARS).

Even as enthusiasm grows over the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), concerns have arisen in equal measure about a possible domination of the field by Big Tech. Such an outcome would replicate many of the mistakes of preceding decades, when a handful of companies accumulated unprecedented market power and often acted as de facto regulators in the global digital ecosystem.

Prof. Luis Eugenio Portela Fernandes De Souza underscores the intersection of public health policy and socio-economic factors, illustrating the need for an integrated policy approach that transcends traditional sector boundaries. From a FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data perspective, his piece resonates with the principles of open science and the urgent requirement for more comprehensive data sharing within and beyond public health.

To receive patent protection for their invention, inventors are required to describe their inventions in such “full, clear, concise, and exact terms” that “one skilled in the art” can make and use the claimed invention. Further, inventions are not patentable “if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious….to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains.” Both of these standards involve evaluations in light of fictitious people engaging in the art – herein referred to as a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA). They also inherently require attention to the definition of art, the specific technology field to which the invention pertains.

Throughout the second half of the 20th century academic freedom has developed in many societies into a widely acknowledged and legally protected fundamental value of academia. This coincided with the recognition of academic freedom as a prerequisite for well-functioning open and democratic societies that adhere to the rule of law. An important condition for this role of academic freedom to be realized is that academics use it to acquire, generate and apply knowledge in ways that are essential for their societies.

Capacity, access, data quality, and ethical issues must be addressed for global adoption of genomic surveillance, highlight Dr Stephen A Morse of IHRC Inc, USA, and Dr Segaran P Pillai of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Frederico Guanais at the Health Division of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) explains why we need to leverage synergies across policy domains to promote both environmental sustainability and public health.

In democratic societies, policymakers and technocrats are entrusted with promoting the well-being of the public they serve. Despite the consensus that public health is an essential component of social well-being, investments in this area are often seen sidelined in favor of other sectors reflecting a fragmented approach to policymaking.

Giriraj Amarnath from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Sri Lanka, discusses policy considerations for secure, equitable digital Twin Earths that proactively build resilience to extreme weather events.

The author Mark Twain supposedly said that “history does not repeat itself but it rhymes.” And with respect to support for AI research, a number of recent actions by the US government appear to rhyme with similar actions it took in the 1980s, when it recommended (and ultimately implemented) significant support for supercomputing-based research.

In an era where data drives decision-making, the accessibility of data for public interest purposes has never been more crucial. Whether shaping public policy, responding to disasters, or empowering research, data plays a pivotal role in our understanding of complex social, environmental, and economic issues.

Historically universities have played a unique role in society. As institutions they are inimitably placed to bring insight and capabilities from across a broad range of disciplines to contribute significantly to their locale, and to the world’s largest and most significant and impactful challenges - whether that is environmental sustainability transforming healthcare and education, or building a future that is more equitable. Universities are distinct from other sectors (even those that undertake research and learning activities), in the way that they can explore topics, make discoveries and offer perspectives and insight in the immediate and longer term.