What does it mean to you to be recognised in the Birthday Honours list?
Receiving an OBE was a huge surprise, and it is especially meaningful to be recognised alongside other climate scientists this year. To me, it signals the enormous importance placed on science in the fight against climate change. I feel incredibly proud that my international work, and that of my brilliant team, have been recognised as part of this national and global mission.
What does your role involve?
I lead the international climate science work at DESNZ within a wider climate science team, which is responsible for providing advice on the latest science and its implications. I represent the UK on the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the global authority on the science of climate change – and in my work speaking on behalf of the UK and engaging counterparts worldwide to steer the work of the IPCC, as well as working with research communities in the UK and overseas to support their involvement. My team and I also ensure that science informs global action in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and I lead on science-related matters for the UK in the negotiations, including the high-profile Cop meetings each year.
How did you end up in that role?
After a brief stint in finance, I pursued a PhD and research in climate change. I knew an academic career wasn’t for me – I wanted to contribute directly to efforts to tackle climate change. So when a science adviser role in the then-Department of Energy and Climate Change became available, I jumped at the chance. Unusually for a civil servant, I’ve progressed in my career through different specialist roles within various incarnations of the same team, with a couple of years in Brussels as a seconded national expert to the European Commission. The civil service provides a unique chance to use my climate science expertise while making a real-world impact, and it’s an immense privilege to represent the UK internationally and show our leadership on climate action.
What's it been like learning from and working with international counterparts in this role?
It’s without doubt one of my favourite parts of the job. If we’re to be successful in tackling climate change through the work of both the IPCC and UNFCCC, it’s imperative the science is robust and globally representative. Working with others forces us to challenge our own perspectives and inherent biases, to develop a better understanding of local contexts and sensitivities, and to ultimately appreciate diverse priorities and ways evidence is used around the world.
Apart from receiving this honour, what has been your proudest moment at work?
There are so many, from putting science at the heart of the Glasgow Climate Pact to leading the UK team during the approval of the IPCC’s 2018 1.5°C special report – a hugely influential report that led to net-zero emissions goals being set worldwide. But I’ll highlight my fight to include the word “unequivocal” in the first key message of the IPCC’s 2021 report on the physical basis of climate change when everyone else had exhausted all other options – just one word, but it says everything about the scientific consensus on human influence on global warming, and it’s used in speeches and headlines worldwide.
What does it take to do your job well?
Connecting with people on a personal level across cultures and languages to understand different perspectives and priorities, the ability to talk about science in an accessible way, and my incredible team.
Tell us one thing we might not know about your job...
Before an IPCC report is released, the 195 member countries spend about a week huddled in a room approving its 20 to 30-page summary sentence by sentence. With the scientific authors in the room, we work all day – and often all night! – to make sure the summary is true to the underlying science, and relevant for policy makers but not prescriptive.