France’s president Emmanuel Macron had an answer to President Donald Trump’s decision to tug America out of the Paris Agreement: invite scientists to research climate change solutions in his country instead. The Make Our Planet Great Again initiative now has its first class: 18 scientists from around the world. They’ll move from institutions like Princeton University, Stanford University, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to work in France.
Macron announced the 18 grants with French research minister Frédérique Vidal right before the One Planet Summit, a meeting convened by Macron, World Bank president Jim Yong Kim, and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to work towards climate action. 12 of the 18 scientists were based at American research centers, laboratories, or universities. Others come from institutions in Canada, Spain, India, the United Kingdom, Poland, and Italy.
Related: Macron and Schwarzenegger throw shade at Donald Trump in new climate video
Thank you for your answer to this first call, your decision to move and come to Paris. Here you have a hub to do more. pic.twitter.com/TFoGRLG5J8
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 11, 2017
One of the scientists is University of Plymouth professor Camille Parmesan, who hails from Texas and was a co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Prize awarded to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for her work as a lead author. She said Make Our Planet Great Again is “absolutely fabulous, and a very appropriate response to Trump pulling out of the Paris accords.”
Bravo à tous ceux qui ont répondu au projet #MakeOurPlanetGreatAgain. Vous allez nourrir la vitalité dont nous avons besoin ! pic.twitter.com/X9t0sXdFd4
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 11, 2017
The French government is offering three to five year grants of up to 1.5 million Euros, or around $1.7 million, each, with a goal of attracting around 50 climate researchers. Over 1,800 scientists expressed interest. Of those, 450 were considered eligible and 255 turned in applications. 90 were invited to offer proposals, working with a French institution, and 57 proposals were turned in to the French National Research Agency. An international panel comprised of nine members reviewed the proposals.
France will go through a second round of proposal evaluations next year, with Germany, which joined the project and committed 15 million Euros, or around $17.6 million. You can see the full list of the 18 winning scientists here.
Via Science Magazine
Images via Emmanuel Macron Facebook and Depositphotos
