They show up at demonstrations, hold up banners and chant protest slogans alongside the young people of Fridays4Future. They sit at the table during political negotiations and provide input for the government programme. Austrian climate researchers have been heavily involved in politics over the past few months.

Not everyone sees this positively: the criticism is that scientific findings have turned into political opinions. What do the researchers themselves say about crossing the boundary between science and (socio-)political engagement? Does research make itself vulnerable when it formulates political goals? How do scientific evidence and political logic fit together? A programme about proximity and distance, cooperation and conflict, using Austrian climate research as a case study.

Listen here: oe1.orf.at