The election of Liz Truss as Britain’s next prime minister has sparked unrest in the already troubled British scientific community and raised concerns among environmental advocates. Truss, who served as foreign secretary under Boris Johnson, has said little about science. There is,” said James Wilsdon, a science policy researcher at the University of Sheffield.

Johnson, who resigned in July after a string of scandals and the shocking resignations of a number of ministers, had championed what his government called a “scientific superpower” agenda. It promised to double government research spending, promote open access publishing and cut the bureaucracy that prevents UK science from recruiting foreign talent. His government was taking steps to deliver the promised increase in funding.

Truss’ opponent in a leadership contest decided by members of the Conservative Party was Rishi Sunak, who had served as Johnson’s Minister of Finance. Sunak has pledged to support the ‘scientific superpower’ agenda, and as the minister presiding over the current science budget, he may have felt obligated to fulfill his previous government’s commitments, he said. Wilsdon says. But Truss also made supportive comments about science over the course of the campaign, says Sarah Mayne, executive director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering. innovation.

Mr Truss said there were continuing doubts about whether and how the UK would join Horizon Europe, the European Union’s seven-year, €95 billion science funding programme, following Brexit. Inherit certainty. An agreement at the end of 2020 paved the way for the country’s accession, but the EU has put its signature on hold amid continuing trade disagreements, particularly over Northern Ireland. In August, Truss began a month-long formal dispute resolution process over the impasse. That could put her in a position to forego Britain’s participation in Horizon Europe, but she says she did everything in her power to participate, Wilsdon says. The £15bn set aside for the contribution of “I’m not very optimistic,” says Wilsdon.

The Truss’ strong position on the Northern Ireland issue shows “the challenges ahead” in resolving the Horizon issue, Main says. But the new government could also trigger a reset and improvement in relations with Europe, she says. In today’s statement, the chairman said: Getting the scientific part of Brexit done now would be a real victory for the new prime minister. “

Sean Spiers, executive director of the think tank The Green Alliance, said both Truss and Snak were “really depressingly trivial” about their commitments to combating climate change and protecting the environment. increase. Of particular concern is the desire of both candidates to abandon EU legislation, including regulations on environmental protection, food safety and chemicals. Losing these regulations, which the UK is now free to remove from its domestic interpretation of EU law, would be “seriously bad news for the environment”.

But the truss may still come. Johnson, who famously wrote climate deniers’ columns for years, described the “Road to Damascus” moment after his science advisors confronted him with the facts. Johnson went on to “try to make climate and nature a major part of his prime,” says Spears. Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, also didn’t appear to take climate seriously before she was elected leader, but the government enacted her 2050 net-zero goal into law, He said he launched a 25-year environmental plan. “So I think we’re starting with a clean slate.”

The UK Conservative Party is not as staunchly opposed to climate action as, for example, the US or Australian parties, Spiers said, but it has a hard-line element of climate deniers and demagogues. be. Both Truss and Sunak signed the Conservative Environment Network pledge to distance themselves from the group during their leadership campaign and commit to action on climate change and the environment. And his one of the rumors of Truss’ cabinet appointment provides reason for optimism. Kwasi Kwarten, a former energy and industry minister who “understands the issues and is committed to action,” is likely to become finance minister, Spears said. “It’s never all lost,” Spiers says.

The next general election must take place in January 2025 at the latest, guaranteeing the Truss Prime Minister a term of only two years. “She has a pretty short window of opportunity,” she says Main. “I think she can expect to see her move quickly.”