The theme of International Open Access Week 2022 is “Open for Climate Justice”.

“Sharing knowledge is a human right, and tackling the climate crisis requires the rapid exchange of knowledge across geographic, economic, and disciplinary boundaries.”

Diamond open access - a researcher’s best friend?

As advocates of open science, we support this assertion and are proud of all our life and environmental sciences journals as well as our environment and earth sciences books, many of which are open access. What is striking, when we run our eye down the list of these journals, is the number of Diamond open access journals we publish in this area and the calibre of the sponsors. For example:

• Aquatic Living Resources - sponsored by Ifremer and IRD
• Hydroécologie Appliquée - sponsored by EDF
• Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems - sponsored by Office française pour la biodiversité
• Natures Sciences Sociétés - sponsored by AgroParisTech, CIRAD, CNRS (INEE et INSHS), INRAE and IRD
• OCL - Oilseeds and Fats, Crops and Lipids - sponsored by Terres Inovia, FNCG, Iterg, Terres Univia and SFEL
• Science and Technology for Energy Transition (STET) - sponsored by IFPEN and the CEA

Sponsors often have a mission based on open science and sustainable development and Diamond open access publishing helps to fulfil that mission. However, Diamond open access also helps to support national and international priorities.

In France, Diamond open access is an integral part of the Deuxième Plan national pour la science ouverte (Second French Plan for Open Science). It states a commitment to “Support open access economic publishing models that do not require the payment of articles or books processing charges (“diamond” model)”. It is therefore unsurprising that many of our journals are sponsored by French research organisations and agencies.

In Europe, the trend is reflected in the DIAMAS project “to Develop Diamond Open Access Publishing in Europe” and the Action Plan for Diamond Open Access from Science Europe, cOAlition S, OPERAS, and the French National Research Agency (ANR). Its aim is “to further develop and expand a sustainable, community-driven Diamond OA scholarly communication ecosystem.”

Open access without article processing charges – Subscribe to Open

Internationally, the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science and its role in helping to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is doubtless having an effect on publishing and open access models. Why stop at Gold open access when models such as Diamond and Subscribe to Open (S2O) are free to readers and authors? No article processing charges (APCs) with these models! In addition, archives are often liberated by these models and the legacy content can be invaluable for tracking trends and developments…

We are proud to support Research4Life, but recognise that fee waivers do not necessarily remove barriers to publishing for researchers in lower- and middle-income countries. Ultimately, only models such as Diamond open access and S2O can offer prospective authors a level playing field and encourage the diversity of submissions needed to tackle the climate crisis.

“In the case of the Subscribe-to-Open model there will be no APCs for accepted manuscripts. As this applies to all submissions, even those from institutions without an S2O subscription, the Subscribe-to-Open model is a very attractive solution for Research4Life authors because they don’t even have to worry about asking for a fee waiver.” Andrea Powell, former STM Outreach Director and Publisher Coordinator, Research4Life

At EDP Sciences, our portfolio of S2O journals is growing. To date six mathematics journals and Astronomy & Astrophysics have adopted S2O. In 2023, Radioprotection will also adopt the S2O model. We actively support the S2O Community of Practice which includes several well-known publishers and organisations such as the Gates Foundation and SPARC. We would encourage anyone with an interest in S2O to get involved.

Towards universal open access

“We believe “Open for climate justice” should focus minds on open access models which are free to readers and authors. In this way open really can be “a means for climate justice” and an effective means of supporting all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.” Agnès Henri, Managing Director, EDP Sciences.

More life and environmental sciences journals:

• Biologie Aujourd'hui
• BIO Web of Conferences
• BSGF – Earth Sciences Bulletin
• Cahiers Agricultures
• Climatologie
• E3S Web of Conferences
• International Journal of Limnology
• Parasite
• Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability
• Sustainable Buildings

See also our environment and earth sciences books.