France backs scientists

It is a dream come true for United States-based climate scientists — the offer of an all-expenses-paid life in France to advance their research in Europe instead of in the US under climate sceptic President Donald Trump, two of the winners say.

American scientist Camille Parmesan and British scientist Benjamin Sanderson are among the 18 initial winners, including 13 based in the US, of French President Emmanuel Macron’s “Make Our Planet Great Again” climate grants.

Macron congratulated the winners during a brief ceremony in Paris.

Parmesan is excited to be doing her research in France for the next five years instead of the US. A scientist from the University of Texas at Austin, she is a leader in the field on how climate affects wildlife.

She lived in Britain and was considering returning to the US until Trump’s election. “He very, very rapidly has been actively trying to erode science in the USA and in particular climate science,” she said. “And it’s hard for two reasons: Funding is becoming almost impossible, and in a psychological sense.”

Parmesan answered with enthusiasm Macron’s appeal for climate researchers to come work in France, minutes after Trump’s rejection of the Paris climate accord. “It gave me such a psychological boost, it was so good to have that kind of support, to have the head of state saying I value what you do,” she said.

Sanderson, who also worked in the US, said he found it “very reassuring” that France is “openly encouraging climate research”.

France’s Ministry of Research said the selection of the laureates focused on “scientific excellence and relevance to the call”. — AP