IIASA Director General joins leading scientists at Vatican to discuss the future of science

Held under the theme, The Future of Science in a Changing World, the plenary session brought together distinguished experts to discuss the future of scientific discovery and its role in shaping a sustainable and equitable world. Discussions spanned artificial intelligence, physics, medicine, biodiversity, and climate change, with particular emphasis on interdisciplinary cooperation, scientific integrity, and ethical responsibility.

Schellnhuber, who is also a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, delivered a presentation titled, The future of climate change and tipping points, during a session on Earth Sciences and the Future of the Planet. His contribution highlighted the risks of potentially irreversible changes in the Earth system and the urgent need for science-informed action.

Among the prominent participants were Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind; Emmanuelle Charpentier, of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens; Steven Chu, Nobel laureate and professor at Stanford University; Fabiola Gianotti, former Director-General of CERN; and Svante Pääbo, Nobel laureate and scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Other distinguished participants included Jeremy Farrar, Assistant Director-General at the World Health Organization, and Tshilidzi Marwala, Rector of the United Nations University.

The program also included an audience with Pope Leo XIV, highlighting the importance of dialogue between scientific progress, ethical responsibility, and global leadership.

The discussions resonated strongly with IIASA's mission to advance interdisciplinary systems analysis and foster international scientific cooperation. As interconnected challenges increasingly transcend national and disciplinary boundaries, science diplomacy plays a key role in building trust, bridging divides, and translating scientific evidence into collective action.

"Humanity's future will be shaped not only by what science discovers, but by what we choose to do with that knowledge. We need a new era of global cooperation in which science transcends borders, bridges divides, and helps chart a course towards a thriving planet. This is the ambition that drives IIASA and makes science diplomacy more essential than ever," said Schellnhuber.

The Vatican gathering reaffirmed the importance of science as a unifying force and the need for institutions like IIASA to connect knowledge, policy, and international cooperation in pursuit of a sustainable future.

Visit the website of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences for further information on the event.