THE United Nations body responsible for assessing the latest climate change science has elected a Scottish academic as its new chair.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said in a statement that Dundee-born Jim Skea was elected by 90 votes to 69 for Thelma Krug of Brazil in a vote held at the United Nations Environment Programme headquarters in Nairobi.
Skea will hold office for the next five to seven years in which temperatures are expected to soon strike 1.5 Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels.
The Scot was a founding member of the UK Government's Committee on Climate Change and currently chairs Scotland's Just Transition Commission.
He studied at the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated with a BSc in Mathematical Physics with first class Honours in 1975. He gained his PhD in Energy Research from Clare College, Cambridge in 1978.
The First Minister congratulated Skea on social media. He said: Proud to see Scotland's own Professor Jim Skea elected to head up IPCC - Jim has provided very helpful input to the Scottish Government over the years.”
“The work the IPCC does is vital in our fight against the climate emergency. We look forward to continuing working with them.”
Proud to see Scotland's own Professor @JimSkeaIPCC elected to head up @IPCC_CH - Jim has provided very helpful input to @scotgov over the years. The work the IPCC does is vital in our fight against the climate emergency. We look forward to continuing working with them. https://t.co/Mb9iWGtjMO
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) July 27, 2023
Cabinet secretary for transport, net zero and just transition Mairi McAllan also congratulated the professor: “Excellent news - congratulations, Jim. Wishing you every success in this most important task.”
Skea, currently a professor of Sustainable Energy at Imperial College in London, co-chaired the IPCC's work on mitigating climate change, which began 30 years ago.
In a statement, the IPCC said: "Most of his career, spreading over decades, has been dedicated to ensuring that the challenges of climate change are understood, and actions to avert them are taken."
Skea, 69, wrote on Twitter, that he was "humbled and deeply honoured" to have been elected to the position, adding that his priorities are "promoting the use of the best and most relevant science."
