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Autumn Newsletter 1
On science, activism & public trust
Abi Perrin, Charlie Gardner & Stuart Capstick
Public trust in science is essential to ensure public health and safety, sustainable behaviour changes and support for evidence-based policies. This trust has been consistently high but has begun to break down in some settings.
Recent years have also seen a surge in research and academic interest into public trust in science, stimulated at least partly by scientist involvement in popular climate movements.
Much of this literature focuses on the role of scientists and the potential risk to public trust if scientists engage in advocacy or activism. However, the rationale, motivations and evidence used by scientist activists themselves are often neglected in these discussions.
Here we briefly share some of those perspectives, reflecting on what critiques around the relationships between science, activism and public trust often miss.
August and September have been a busy months for Scientists on Survival, on the eve of a governmental decision regarding new fossil fuel sites, Jackdaw and Rosebank.
Scientists pour water on Burnham’s signals on North Sea drilling
On the morning of 17 August 2026, a group of scientists sprayed fire extinguishers at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in a desperate call for the government to listen to climate science. Reported in the paper copy of the Independent.
As our new prime minister and the energy secretary weigh opening new oil and gas fields, MPs must face up to the harm that more CO2 means and not be misled by spurious industry talking points.
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