According to Nature we are scandalously unprepared. Not a single Earth government has plans in place for what they should do in the event of being contacted by extraterrestrial beings.
Not to worry, though. There are plenty of science fiction fans all around the world who have dedicated their lives to studying what to do in just that eventuality.
The Nature News article appears to be referring to a Royal Society conference earlier this week.
The Contact conference has long had activities related to this and similar topics involving SF authors, anthropologists, astronomers, artists and many others. Recent Contact conferences have occurred at NASA facilities in the SF Bay Area.
I’m afraid that the thoughtful SF fans talking about the great cultural benefits will be outnumbered by the sci-fi film fans demanding that we nuke ’em.