We scientists must rise up to prevent the climate crisis. Words aren’t enough | Claire Wordley and Charlie Gardner

Our profession has been great at raising awareness. But this alone won't succeed against the might of the oil and gas lobbyists

As scientists, we tend to operate under an unspoken assumption - that our job is to provide the world with factual information, and if we do so our leaders will use it to make wise decisions. But what if that assumption is wrong? For decades, conservation scientists like us have been telling the world that species and ecosystems are disappearing, and that their loss will have devastating impacts on humanity. Meanwhile, climate scientists have been warning that the continued burning of fossil fuels and destruction of natural carbon sinks, such as forests and peatlands, will lead to catastrophic planetary heating.

We have collectively written tens of thousands of peer-reviewed papers, and shared our findings with policymakers and the public. And, on the face of it, we seem to have done a pretty good job: after all, we all know about the environmental and climate crises, don't we?