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June 21, 2006
World Scientists Address Disease Surveillance and Energy
The national science academies of 12 nations [G8 nations, Brazil, China, India, and South Africa] issued two joint statements to the leaders of the G8 countries who meet at their annual summit in Russia next month. One endorses reinvention of the world's disease surveillance system; the other urges major expansion of energy research to address the global crisis in energy supplies.
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The academies argue that global efforts in both infectious diseases and energy sourcing are tremendously inadequate given the scale of the problems. Current systems of national and international disease surveillance are fragmented and uncoordinated. The world needs a tightly coordinated global system with animal and human health experts working closely together, in light of the bird flu and other pandemic threats that we are likely to face. Similarly, the academies argue that G8 must address serious inadequacies in funding and incentives for energy research.
In particular, the academies recommend:
Reinventing disease surveillance
Efforts to coordinate disease surveillance across national and international agencies and research bodies
Independent audit to recommend how to develop global surveillance
Research into more rapid vaccine production methods
Greater cooperation between human- and animal-health communities
Better collection and sharing of clinical and epidemiological data Investing in energy R&D
Investing in energy R&D
Highlight 'reality and urgency' of global energy supply
Big, long-term infrastructure investments in cheap, clean, sustainable energies
Boost developing countries' capacity in innovative energy technologies
Incentives to develop clean fossil, nuclear and renewable technologies
Focus public research and technology efforts on energy efficiency,
non-conventional hydrocarbons and clean coal, innovative nuclear power,
distributed power systems, renewable energy sources, and biomass
production.
The academies' statements seek to build on the seeming influence that their statements had last year on G8 commitments for African aid.
The joint statements are described in more detail and linked below.<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/[environment]" rel="tag">[environment]</a>
Joint science academies’ statement: Avian influenza and infectious diseases
14 Jun 2006
Ref: 13/06
The national science academies of the G8 nations and Brazil, China, India and South Africa have signed a statement on avian influenza and infectious diseases.
The statement stresses that the world faces the possibility of a new human influenza pandemic caused by the spread of avian influenza. All countries of the world should cooperate to address the present issues surrounding avian influenza, as well as continuing with long term global strategies to address other major and emerging infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The statement calls on world leaders, particularly those meeting at the G8 Summit in St Petersburg in July 2006, to implement the following recommendations.
- Provide support to developing nations in the implementation of their own national strategies to address avian influenza and other infectious diseases.
- Improve the coordination of global surveillance for the control of emerging and zoonotic diseases.
- Mobilise global scientific and medical communities in order to develop new vaccines and drugs and new more rapid methods for the production of vaccines. Governments and the scientific community should also promote international cooperation between human health and veterinary experts to elaborate new methods for detection, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.
- Encourage Governments to collaborate in the collection of clinical and epidemiological data implement strategies that allow clinical data to be accessed and shared, particularly in the early stages of a pandemic.
- The world community must ensure that the focus on avian influenza does not compete with, but rather motivates the development of broad-based and sustainable infrastructure with the capacity to address an array of infectious disease threats globally.
The Royal Society issued a press release highlighting this statement on 14 June 2006.
- Joint science academies’ statement: Avian influenza and infectious diseases (Adobe PDF File, 733kb)
Joint science academies’ statement: Energy Sustainability and Security
G8 countries bear a special responsibility for the current high level of energy consumption, and should play a leading role in assuring global energy sustainability and security. The national science academies of the G8 nations and Brazil, China, India and South Africa, have signed a statement on this issue.
The statement calls on all countries of the world, especially those meeting at the G8 summit in July 2006, to cooperate in identifying common strategic priorities for sustainable and secure energy systems, in implementing actions towards those strategic priorities, and to:
- Articulate the reality and urgency of global energy security concerns
- Plan for the massive infrastructure investments, and lead times required for a transition to clean, affordable and sustainable energy systems
- Intensify cooperation with developing countries to build their domestic capacities to use existing and innovative energy systems and technologies, including transfer of technologies
- Promote by appropriate policies and economic instruments the development and implementation of cost-competitive, environmentally beneficial, and market acceptable clean fossil, nuclear, and renewable technologies
- Ensure, in cooperation with industry, that technologies are developed and implemented and actions taken to protect energy infrastructures from natural disasters, technological failures, and human actions
- Address the serious inadequacy of R&D funding and provide incentives to accelerate advanced energy-related R&D, also in partnership with private companies
- Implement education programs to increase public understanding of energy challenges, and to provide for energy-related expertise and engineering capabilities
- Focus governmental research and technology efforts on energy efficiency, non-conventional hydrocarbons and clean coal with CO2 sequestration, innovative nuclear power, distributed power systems, renewable energy sources, biomass production, biomass and gas conversion for fuels.
The Royal Society issued a press release highlighting this statement on 14 June 2006.
This statement follows on from the statement on climate change released by the G8
academies in the lead up to the 2005 G8 summit in
Gleneagles.
- Joint science academies’ statement: Energy Sustainability and Security (Adobe PDF File, 706kb)
June 21, 2006 in Africa, Asia, Climate Change, Energy, EU, Governance/Management, International, North America, Physical Science, South America, Sustainability, US | Permalink
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