Why is the PAGES headquarters actually located in Bern?
That goes back to Hans Oeschger, a Bernese climate research pioneer, after whom the Oeschger Center is named. PAGES was founded in 1991 by him, and together with a handful of colleagues, they were able to convince both the Swiss National Science Foundation and the U.S. National Science Foundation to establish the network, and provide long-term funding. Over time, the Swiss Academy of Sciences, SCNAT (under the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation) has taken over financial support for the Swiss part of the network.
Recently, PAGES has also been co-funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). What do the funders expect?
The answer probably lies in the fact that these kinds of networks provide research services that no one else is capable of. And, financial support for PAGES is potentially associated with a good reputation - with leadership. Basically, it's very difficult to secure funding for an international network because no one really wants to take charge. During the Trump era, the U.S. withdrew its funding from PAGES, and European countries didn’t want to step in. In the end, CAS was persuaded. Since 2019, CAS can appoint one of the co-chairs, as was previously the case with the U.S., together with a co-chair from Switzerland. CAS values PAGES very highly: the PAGES Symposium on June 1 will be attended by a six-member delegation from China, including Gao Hongjun, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Has anything changed at PAGES since China has become involved?
No. The internal PAGES regulations have remained unchanged, and the SCNAT guidelines have been adopted by CAS one-to-one. For example, how and by whom the ‘board’ is composed, and how decisions are made.