Image: ROBERT HOOD / FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER

Yesterday 80 scientists signed onto an open letter endorsing Joe Biden for president. According to the Biden campaign’s press release, the letter includes some of the most prominent scientists and public health experts in the country, including:

• Five Nobel Laureates or National Medal of Science winners;
• Several MacArthur Genius Grant Award Winners;
• More than 20 members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine;
• Six current or former deans of leading science or public health schools;
• Former government science advisors, including a former Senior Advisor the President for Science and Technology, and a former Director of the National Institutes of Health;
• A former president of the National Academy of Sciences; and
• Five former U.S. State Department Science Envoys.

The group highlighted Biden’s longstanding commitment to funding scientific research, acknowledgment of climate change, and willingness to listen to scientists in crafting public policy as reasons for the endorsement.

Why This Matters: This helps buck criticism that Joe Biden isn’t willing to go far enough on climate action. If the very people who understand the climate crisis best are willing to lend their names to Biden’s list of supporters, it makes it more difficult for progressive activists to make the claim that Biden is only marginally better than Trump on the issue. This could also be an indication of how Biden would prioritize scientists serving in his cabinet and agencies.