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Jim has been in post since July 2023 and has the critical role of overseeing the IPCC’s seventh assessment cycle (AR7) bringing together the latest and most authoritative climate science evidence in a suite of reports to help the world’s leaders and decision makers to shape their climate policies and actions.
Josh Blannin is an early career scientist at the Met Office who met Jim. He hopes that his research will one day join the growing body of evidence of climate science. He said: “The amount of global climate research is continually growing – and that presents plenty of opportunities for an early career scientist like myself to get involved with.
“The level of international cooperation is very large – this no doubt presents interesting challenges, but it’s hard not be inspired and feel part of the larger research community.”
He concluded: “I hope that the work I’m doing now, and will achieve in future, can contribute to furthering climate science – and maybe via the IPCC’s influential reports.”
The Met Office is one of the lead centres for climate science research adding to the body of scientific evidence underpinning climate policy. But the wealth of information from climate researchers across the world is presenting the IPCC with a new challenge.
Commenting on the growth of climate science evidence, Professor Skea said: “On my latest count there are between 45,000 and 50,000 new articles published each year mentioning ‘climate change’ in the title or the abstract. And that is doubling every [IPCC] cycle, and that means that every new cycle there is as much literature to assess than had been published previously. And that is a challenge for us.”
Professor Skea explained that his vision was to ensure that the evidence – which includes physical climate science, as well as climate adaptation and mitigation - is mapped against three key principles outlined in the landmark Paris Agreement back in 2015:
- Holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 °C
- To adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development, without threatening food production
- Making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.
As part of his role as IPCC chair, Professor Skea attended the recent Copenhagen Climate Ministerial meeting. Commenting on the Paris goals, Professor Skea said: “It is very evident that you cannot select one of these goals and prioritise it; they all hang together, and we will not make progress on one unless we make progress on them all.”
 Professor Jim Skea meeting early career scientists when visiting the Met Office last month
Away from the formal and sometimes sobering Met Office seminar Jim was keen to meet a series of early-career scientists working at the Met Office.
Dr Chantelle Burton, Senior Climate Scientist specialising in wildfire research said: “Spending time with Jim provided a valuable insight into how the evidence from scientists like us will feed into the next IPCC reporting cycle forming the evidence base needed by decision makers to translate science into climate mitigation and adaptation policies.”
Opportunities like this to share experiences and learn from other scientists at every stage of their careers is something that we encourage. This is especially valuable for early careers scientists from apprentices, industrial placement and those on our graduate programme. Find out more
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