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Climate change experts and IPCC

31 January 2007

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will publish this Friday (2nd Feb) the first volume of its fourth assessment report - Climate Change 2007.

The report is an up to date assessment of current climate change knowledge and the first volume will reveal several important findings including the progress made in understanding and attributing climate change. It is expected to provide the most compelling evidence to date that climate is changing and that human activity is largely responsible for the rise in the Earth's surface temperature.

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is at the forefront of climate change research and spends about £40m each year on climate change programmes. Many NERC funded scientists are world-leading authorities on this issue, and often advise the Intergovernmental Panel.

The following scientists are available to talk about climate change issues:

Professor Peter Cox
Director of NERC's Climate & Land-Surface Systems Interaction Centre (CLASSIC).

The principal goal of CLASSIC is to reduce uncertainty in assessing the actual and potential effects of climate change through an improved understanding of the feedback mechanisms that exist between the land surface and the atmosphere.

Tel: 01392 269220
Mob: 07794 184681

Professor Colin Prentice
Leader of NERC's QUEST programme (Quantifying and Understanding the Earth System), at the University of Bristol.

QUEST is producing science to inform evidence-based policy by consulting with key groups of people from the outset. Some of the major questions being addressed by the QUEST team are

• where and how is carbon dioxide being absorbed or released?
• what will different degrees of climate change imply for water and food supplies, and human health?
• which regions and people are most at risk?
• how can we stabilise greenhouse gases at a level that would prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system?

Tel: 0117 331 5019

Professor Mike Hulme
Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, UK.

Prepared climate scenarios and reports for the UK Government (including the UKCIP98 and UKCIP02 scenarios), the European Commission, UNEP, UNDP, WWF-International and the IPCC. Co-ordinating Lead Author for the chapter on 'Climate scenario development' for the Third Assessment Report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as well as a contributing author for several other chapters.

Tel: 07880 547843

Dr Chris Huntingford
Climate modeller from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

Provided evidence to the Stern Review, has contributed to the IPCC assessment on climate change.

Tel: 01491 692389
Mob: 07884 437138

Dr Richard Harding
Climate modeller from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

Leader of WATCH - a £7M EU funded climate change and the water cycle programme.

Tel: 01491 692240
Mob: 07748 254533

Dr Simon Boxall
Scientist and lecturer at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton.

Involved in many aspects of climate change research including Arctic ice shelves, extreme weather, tsunamis and other issues facing our planet.

Tel: 023 8059 2744
Mob : 07802 880395

Professor Tom Choularton
Head of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Manchester.

Programme leader of NERC's Clouds, Water Vapour and Climate programme. Areas of research - cloud processes, the effects of clouds on climate, the interaction of aerosol with cloud and the aerosol indirect effect.

Tel: 0161 306 3950

Professor Alan Thorpe
Chief Executive, NERC, researcher in the dynamics and predictability of weather and climate. Is currently leading on online debate with climate change sceptics.

Contact the NERC press office on 01793 411727 or 01793 411561 to arrange interviews with Prof Thorpe.

In addition to the names listed above, there are scientists from NERC's National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) who have directly contributed their knowledge and expertise to this report, as lead and contributing authors. They, and other NCAS experts in the field (including Directors of Research Programmes), will be available for expert comment on the report's findings, once the report has been released on 2nd February 2007.

Dr Louisa Watts
NCAS Knowledge Transfer & Science Communications Manager.

Tel: 01793 411609
Mob: 07786 214886

Further information

NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411561
Mob: 07917 557215

Notes

1. The Natural Environment Research Council funds world-class science, in universities and its own research centres, that increases knowledge and understanding of the natural world. NERC is tackling the 21st century's major environmental issues such as climate change, biodiversity and natural hazards. It leads in providing independent research and training in the environmental sciences.

2. The Tyndall Centre brings together scientists, economists, engineers and social scientists to develop sustainable responses to climate change through trans-disciplinary research and dialogue on both a national and international level. Its core funding comes from three UK Research Councils - The Economic & Social, Engineering & Physical Sciences and Natural Environment Research Councils.

3. The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology is the UK's leading research organisation for land and freshwater science. Its scientists carry out research to improve our understanding of both the environment and the processes that underlie the Earth's support systems. It is one of the Natural Environment Research Council's research centres.

4. The National Oceanography Centre, Southampton is a joint venture between the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the University of Southampton. The Centre is the national focus for oceanography in the UK with a remit to achieve scientific excellence as one of the world's top five oceanographic research institutions.

5. The National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) -- carries out the UK's core academic atmospheric science research programme on behalf of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). NCAS presently receives about £7.5M a year from the Government's Science budget to carry this out. NCAS' research focuses on climate science, climate change, air quality, hazardous weather, state-of-the-art technologies for making ground and airborne measurements, and the research outcomes inform government policy-making. NCAS, via the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) , also manages the operations of a state-of-the-art atmospheric research aircraft which is shared with the UK Met Office.

Briefing note: 02/07

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