The feedback of the main two tectonic impacts of Brexit-voting in Europe (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brexit) and 2016 Presidential-election in the USA (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2016) on science and technology can not pass by and go unnoticed. Indeed, there are major changes in the global “economical-political” landscape with severe long-term impacts on education, science and technology. The current global “economical-political” landscape as triggered by national and regional interests, growing economical competitions around the world regarding production and use of natural resources to support the existing industries that are very much dependent on coal, oil and gas, has changed or even twisted very rapidly quite recently. The global innate force of interia (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertia) to bring about any changes in the existing “economical-political” landscape has, also, caused protests and actions against any rapid shake-up and twists in labor markets, industries and trade that are dependent on coal, oil and gas. Large and huge number of sectors around the world with enormous populations of labor and man-power are very much depedent on coal, oil and gas. It is, therefore, expected that any major transformation, even with strong and logic support from science and technology, will be not be accepted by all. It is not a matter of mistrust but it is rather a matter of finding appropriate strategies to suitable transformation where the “economical-political” land-scape can be reshaped with consideration to the diverse realities as imposed by the new findings of science and technology. The three main pillars “politics, economy and science” have to come in much more stronger interactions. It is no question that science, R&D and technology (http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/633796/Science-and-Technology/) has shaped and reshaped our way of life. Shaping and reshaping societies during several centuries, in particular the past one, have resulted collectively in huge socio-economic developments worldwide which we all benefit from today. However, these  socio-economic developments were not “error-free”.  The UN-SDGs and the Paris Agreement are natural components in the evolution of science, R&D and technology towards maturity and came to mitigate what went wrong in the past. Development and evolution of “science, R&D and technology” is not by any means a linear process as they are not only subject of internal validation but they have also to be assessed and accepted by a much more diverse and wider external players within and among economical and political communities. Such assessment and acceptance is not straightforward, and do not take place overnight. Let us see these facts in much wider and global socio-economic perspective where the three pillars of “science, R&D and technology”; “politics”; and “economy” get more deeper and stronger interactions. 

http://inhabitat.com/22-nobel-prize-winners-tell-trump-that-science-must-play-a-critical-role-in-us-policy/