Stefan Rahmstorf

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I welcome this pledge because it explicitly states key ingredients of an open, honest discourse that is seeking the truth. These points almost go without saying and (I assume) are taken for granted by most of us in academia. Nevertheless we are now increasingly faced with actors in public discourse who are not acting in good faith and who try to misinform. An example from my field of expertise is those who deny human-caused global warming by twisting and cherry-picking evidence. Therefore it is important to remind everyone of the basic ethics essential for an honest and productive debate, without which an open democratic society cannot thrive.