By Daniel Bertan '17Great Britain’s Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, also known as the Royal Society, held another Conference of Commonwealth Scientists for the first time in 50 years. The conference took place from November 25th to November 28th and was targeted to discuss problems of climate change affecting the English Commonwealth, as well as other places around the world.The Royal Society, founded in 1660, is one of the oldest, and still active, scientific societies; it serves as the United Kingdom’s academy of sciences.  The Royal Society is a scientific advisor to the English government and has many top scientists and researchers working on solving some of the world’s toughest scientific problems.The Conference of Commonwealth Scientists was a conference originally held in 1967, where leading Commonwealth scientists discussed scientific development in poor, underdeveloped countries.  This conference was considered a breakthrough in the field and was the only one of its kind. However, the conference has not met since 1967.Now called the Commonwealth Science Conference, this conference compiles leading scientists from countries such as England, Scotland, India, Canada, Australia, and many others. The conference took place in Bangalore, India. Scientists discussed the effects of climate change on the diverse regions that the Commonwealth covers.  This includes preparation for floods, droughts, and heat waves.  The Royal Society released its report, “Resilience to Extreme Weather,” at the conference.The potential implications for this conference are massive.  The head of the Royal Society, Sir Paul Nurse, believes that the Commonwealth, which contains about a third of the world’s population and is comprised of 53 countries, acts as a microcosm of the world.  Therefore, he believes that the Commonwealth can help other nations plan for changing climates and extreme weather using the research of these Commonwealth countries.  Additionally, Harold Ramkissoon, a scientist from Trinidad and Tobago, believes that the conference’s findings will give smaller countries a better chance to voice their concerns over climate change in their nations, where extreme weather conditions can have traumatizing effects.While it is unclear if the conference will help solve problems of climate change in the Commonwealth or around the world, we will not have to wait 50 years to find out its effects, as the Royal Society has planned another conference in 2017.However, there is concern that while scientists attending the CSC may find solutions, larger nations, such as Canada and Australia, who have shaky environmental policies, will not change their policies even if scientists prove they are endangering themselves, as they do not want to cut jobs in their home countries.Sources:http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21635235-idea-commonwealth-strong-scientific-body-something-commonhttps://royalsociety.org/~/media/Royal_Society_Content/about-us/history/2012-Supplemental-Charter.pdfhttps://royalsociety.org/events/2014/commonwealth-science-conference/