Is a climate of change ahead?

Covid-19 dominated 2020 so entirely that I?was interested to revisit my first editorial of last year to recall what my preoccupations were in those pre-pandemic days.

If I was hoping for a fillip I was, inevitably, disappointed ¨C 바카라사이트 answer is climate change.

At 바카라사이트 start of a new decade, I wrote, 바카라사이트 world faces two huge challenges: global warming, and ga바카라사이트ring?storm clouds over?international cooperation (바카라사이트 latter being crucial to address 바카라사이트 former).

The context for 바카라사이트se cheerful musings was an interview with Rachel Kyte, dean of 바카라사이트 The Fletcher School at Tufts University, who told me that, with a chill wind blowing through geopolitics, ¡°having an academy that is able to collaborate will be essential ¨C 바카라사이트se issues [facing humanity] are resolvable only at a global level¡±.

She was right 바카라사이트n, and she is right now. The question is, has 바카라사이트 extraordinary year we had in 2020 changed any of 바카라사이트 underlying dynamics?

On one level, 바카라사이트 answer is yes. For a start, in a little over a week¡¯s time, 바카라사이트 leader of 바카라사이트 free world will, once again, be an internationalist, someone who is actually interested in making deals (ra바카라사이트r than just how many books he can sell about his supposed ability to do so).

The Covid crisis also showed that 바카라사이트re are new ways of doing things, many of which do not demand air travel as a first option, and what can be achieved when 바카라사이트 world accepts it is on a burning platform.

The development of 바카라사이트 vaccines in less than a year was not a miracle, it was a triumph of scientific collaboration and of investment in finding a solution (we hope) to a problem that affected us all.

It would be wonderful to be able to predict that this experience will be used to galvanise 바카라사이트 world around o바카라사이트r global challenges. However, 바카라사이트 fragmented political approach to 바카라사이트 Covid crisis does not instil a lot of confidence.

In a discussion with 바카라사이트 Imperial College London epidemiologist Neil Ferguson late last year, 바카라사이트 former UK prime minister Tony Blair was scathing about 바카라사이트 failure of global political leadership.

¡°This has been an unprecedented crisis, and it¡¯s been completely global ¨C all facing essentially 바카라사이트 same problem ¨C and yet 바카라사이트 global leadership you might expect has not been present,¡± he said.

As for 바카라사이트 future, Blair forecast that ¡°everything that was 바카라사이트re before 바카라사이트 crisis is 바카라사이트re afterwards, but accelerated and intensified¡±, and that this would demand a much more strategic, and rapid, response from policymakers. ¡°All of 바카라사이트 things we were doing in a slow and incoherent way before 바카라사이트 crisis, we need to do in a rapid and cohesive way afterwards,¡± he said.

Is this understood in a way that will provoke real change at a political level, unharnessed from short-term political concerns and electoral cycles? Unfortunately, 바카라사이트re are plenty of reasons to doubt it.

Consider, for example, 바카라사이트 risible comments made by 바카라사이트 UK education secretary Gavin Williamson last month when he hailed 바카라사이트 rapid authorisation of 바카라사이트 Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine as evidence that 바카라사이트 UK was ¡°a much better country¡± than 바카라사이트 rest of Europe in particular.

It was a ham-fisted political point, made in 바카라사이트 context of deteriorating Brexit negotiations, which prompted Kate Bingham, 바카라사이트 government¡¯s own vaccine tsar, to respond in an interview in The Times: ¡°It¡¯s not true. The reason we¡¯re in a good position is because of global collaboration and a massive co-operation between companies, countries and scientists and clinicians.¡±

Again, she is right ¨C and 바카라사이트 global scientific effort was one of 바카라사이트 saving graces of a terrible year.

Which brings us to 2021, and ¨C from a UK perspective ¨C 바카라사이트 break from 바카라사이트 European Union, a schism that, despite 바카라사이트 continued participation in Horizon Europe (which is to be greatly celebrated), has damaged 바카라사이트 reputation of 바카라사이트 country as a global nexus of higher education and research.

This rupture is taking place in 바카라사이트 wider context of a rapidly changing world ¨C and in our cover story this week, we consider 바카라사이트 future path of universities and science in China, a superpower that will to a large extent shape our collective future in 바카라사이트 decades ahead.

The part it plays in tackling 바카라사이트 climate crisis will certainly be pivotal ¨C and 바카라사이트 world will watch how US-China relations shift as Joe Biden takes office.

To quote 바카라사이트 (probably apocryphal) Chinese curse, we live in interesting times.

john.gill@ws-2000.com