Leaders of the global science community have issued joint statements to the world leaders meeting at the 38th G-8 Summit that started today. The national science academies from 15 countries including China, India, the US and the UK have called on the leading industrialised economies to pay greater heed to science and technology to tackle Earth's three greatest challenges.
Minimizing the effects of disasters is one of those three great challenges as the scientists acknowledge in their so-called "G-Science" statements. In addition to regular risk surveillance, the G-Science statement recommends building "resilience" to catastrophic events by, for example, improving public health systems. The other two challenges pointed out concern water and energy management and sinks of greenhouse gases. The 38th G-8 Summit, the annual meeting of the eight most powerful western economies, will be held from 18 to 19 May in Camp David, Maryland, United States. In past G8 summits, the views of the collective academies have been influential.
