Robert Watson (scientist)

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Robert Watson
Bob Watson.jpg
Born21 March 1948 (1948-03-21) (age 71)
NationalityBritish
Alma mater Queen Mary University of London
Awards Blue Planet Prize (2010)
FRS (2011)
Scientific career
FieldsAtmospheric scientist
Institutions University of East Anglia
Thesis The study of some reactions involving halogen atoms and oxyhalide free radicals by molecular beam mass spectrometry  (1973)

Sir Robert Tony Watson CMG FRS (born 21 March 1948) is a British chemist who has worked on atmospheric science issues including ozone depletion, global warming and paleoclimatology since the 1980s.

Order of St Michael and St George series of appointments of an order of chivalry of the United Kingdom

The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later King George IV, while he was acting as regent for his father, King George III.

Royal Society English learned society for science

The President, Council and Fellows of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, commonly known as the Royal Society, is a learned society. Founded on 28 November 1660, it was granted a royal charter by King Charles II as "The Royal Society". It is the oldest national scientific institution in the world. The society is the United Kingdom's and Commonwealth of Nations' Academy of Sciences and fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, recognising excellence in science, supporting outstanding science, providing scientific advice for policy, fostering international and global co-operation, education and public engagement.

Ozone depletion Stratospheric phenomena of Earth

Ozone depletion describes two related events observed since the late 1970s: a steady lowering of about four percent in the total amount of ozone in Earth's atmosphere, and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone around Earth's polar regions. The latter phenomenon is referred to as the ozone hole. There are also springtime polar tropospheric ozone depletion events in addition to these stratospheric events.

Contents

Education and awards

Watson received a PhD in gas phase chemical kinetics (atmospheric chemistry) from Queen Mary College, University of London in 1973. [1] [2] He has received awards for his contributions to science, including the NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing from the National Academy of Sciences in 1992, [3] the American Association for the Advancement of Science Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility in 1993, the insignia of Honorary Companion of St Michael and St George from the British Government in 2003, and the Champions of the Earth Award from the United Nations Environment Programme in 2014. [4]

Atmospheric chemistry The branch of atmospheric science in which the chemistry of the atmosphere is studied

Atmospheric chemistry is a branch of atmospheric science in which the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere and that of other planets is studied. It is a multidisciplinary approach of research and draws on environmental chemistry, physics, meteorology, computer modeling, oceanography, geology and volcanology and other disciplines. Research is increasingly connected with other areas of study such as climatology.

University of London federal public university in London, United Kingdom

The University of London is a collegiate federal research university located in London, England. As of October 2018, the university contains 18 member institutions, central academic bodies and research institutes. The university has over 52,000 distance learning external students and 161,270 campus-based internal students, making it the largest university by number of students in the United Kingdom.

The NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "to recognize authors whose reviews have synthesized extensive and difficult material, rendering a significant service to science and influencing the course of scientific thought." It has been awarded annually in specific fields since 1979.

Career

Watson was the Director of the Science Division and Chief Scientist for the Office of Mission to Planet Earth at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Watson then became Associate Director for Environment in the Office of the President of the United States in the White House.

NASA space-related agency of the United States government

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.

Executive Office of the President of the United States U.S. government executive agency

The Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) is a group of agencies at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The EOP supports the work of the President. It consists of several offices and agencies, such as the White House Office, National Security Council or Office of Management and Budget.

In 1996, Watson joined the World Bank as the Senior Scientific adviser in the Environment Department, became Director of the Environment Department and Head of the Environment Sector Board in 1997 and is currently the Chief Scientist and Senior Adviser for Sustainable Development. He took up a position as Chair of Environmental Science and Science Director of the Tyndall Centre at the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom, in August 2007 [5] and joined the British Government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as Chief Scientific Adviser in September 2007. [6]

The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and most well-known development bank in the world and is an observer at the United Nations Development Group. The bank is based in Washington, D.C. and provided around $61 billion in loans and assistance to "developing" and transition countries in the 2014 fiscal year. The bank's stated mission is to achieve the twin goals of ending extreme poverty and building shared prosperity. Total lending as of 2015 for the last 10 years through Development Policy Financing was approximately $117 billion. Its five organizations are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The first two are sometimes collectively referred to as the World Bank.

University of East Anglia university in Norwich, England

The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a 320 acres campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution for 2016–17 was £273.7 million of which £35.6 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £262.6 million.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs agriculture ministry of United Kingdom (British ministerial department)

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Concordats set out agreed frameworks for co operation, between it and the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive, which have devolved responsibilities for these matters in their respective nations.

Watson had a role in either the regulation efforts of Ozone depletion and global warming. The Montreal and Vienna conventions were installed long before a scientific consensus was established. [7] Until the 1980s EU, NASA, NAS, UNEP, WMO and the British government had dissenting scientific reports. [7] Watson played a role in the process of unified assessments [7] and did so as well for the IPCC.

He was Chairman of the Global Environment Facility's Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel from 1991 to 1994, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 1997 to 2002 and Board co-chair for the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment from 2000 to 2005. He was then Director of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development which ran from 2005 to 2007, and had previously been co-chair of the International Scientific Assessment of Stratospheric Ozone for their reports from 1994 [8] to 2006. [9] He has been Chair or co-chair of other international scientific assessments, including the IPCC Working Group II, the United Nations Environment Programme/World Meteorological Organization (UNEP/WMO), and the UNEP Global Biodiversity Assessment.

Global Environment Facility public funder of projects to improve the global environment

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to help tackle our planet’s most pressing environmental problems. The GEF unites 183 countries in partnership with international institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), and the private sector to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives. Since 1992, the GEF has provided over $17 billion in grants and mobilized an additional $88 billion in financing for more than 4000 projects in 170 countries. Through its Small Grants Programme (SGP), the GEF has invested $450million and leveraged similar levels of co financing supporting over 14,500 community based projects in over 125 countries.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scientific intergovernmental body

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations, dedicated to providing the world with an objective, scientific view of climate change, its natural, political and economic impacts and risks, and possible response options.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) is a major assessment of the human impact on the environment, called for by the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2000, launched in 2001 and published in 2005 with more than $14 million of grants. It popularized the term ecosystem services, the benefits gained by humans from ecosystems.

Watson was knighted in the 2012 New Year Honours for his government service. [10] [11]

He is currently Director of Strategic Development for the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia. [5]

On 29 February 2016, Watson was elected Chair of IPBES at the Fourth Plenary of that organisation after having served as its vice-president before. [12]

Opinions

Andrew Revkin writing for the New York Times described Watson as an "outspoken advocate of the idea that human actions—mainly burning coal and oil—are contributing to global warming and must be changed to avert environmental upheavals." [13]

In April 2002 the United States pressed for and won his replacement by Rajendra Pachauri as IPCC chair. According to New Scientist , "The oil industry seems to be behind the move." The industry campaign to oust Watson had begun days after George W. Bush's inauguration in January 2001, with a memo to the White House from Randy Randol of oil giant ExxonMobil asking "Can Watson be replaced now at the request of the US?" [14]

In 2000, Watson stated:

The overwhelming majority of scientific experts, whilst recognising that scientific uncertainties exist, nonetheless believe that human-induced climate change is inevitable. Indeed, during the last few years, many parts of the world have suffered major heat waves, floods, droughts, fires and extreme weather events leading to significant economic losses and loss of life. While individual events cannot be directly linked to human-induced climate change, the frequency and magnitude of these types of events are predicted to increase in a warmer world.
The question is not whether climate will change in response to human activities, but rather how much (magnitude), how fast (the rate of change) and where (regional patterns). It is also clear that climate change will, in many parts of the world, adversely affect socio-economic sectors, including water resources, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and human settlements, ecological systems (particularly forests and coral reefs), and human health (particularly diseases spread by insects), with developing countries being the most vulnerable. The good news is, however, that the majority of experts believe that significant reductions in net greenhouse gas emissions are technically feasible due to an extensive array of technologies and policy measures in the energy supply, energy demand and agricultural and forestry sectors. In addition, the projected adverse effects of climate change on socio-economic and ecological systems can, to some degree, be reduced through proactive adaptation measures. These are the fundamental conclusions, taken from already approved/accepted IPCC assessments, of a careful and objective analysis of all relevant scientific, technical and economic information by thousands of experts from the appropriate fields of science from academia, governments, industry and environmental organisations from around the world. [15]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ archive lectures of AAAS
  2. ↑ "Queen Mary University of London Honorary Fellows". Queen Mary University of London. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing". National Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on 18 March 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  4. ↑ "Prof Bob Watson to receive United Nations award for services to science". University of East Anglia. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Robert Watson". Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  6. ↑ "Chief Scientific Adviser". DEFRA. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. 5 October 2007. Archived from the original on 5 July 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 Technische Problemlösung, Verhandeln und umfassende Problemlösung, (eng. technical troubleshooting, negotiating and generic problem-solving capability) in Gesellschaftliche Komplexität und kollektive Handlungsfähigkeit (Societys complexity and collective ability to act), ed. Schimank, U. (2000). Frankfurt/Main: Campus, p.154-182 book summary at the Max Planck Gesellschaft
  8. ↑ "Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 1994". NOAA. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2006". NOAA. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  10. ↑ "No. 60009". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2011. p. 1.
  11. ↑ "New Year Honours" (PDF). BBC. 2012.
  12. ↑ IPBES (2016): Press Release: IPBES Elects new Bureau and Sir Robert Watson as Chair http://www.ipbes.net/article/press-release-ipbes-elects-new-bureau-and-sir-robert-watson-chair
  13. ↑ Revkin, Andrew C. (2 April 2002). "Dispute Arises Over a Push To Change Climate Panel". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  14. ↑ MacKenzie, Debora (20 April 2002). "Too hot for head of climate panel". New Scientist. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  15. ↑ Watson, Robert T. (13 November 2000). "Presentation of Robert T. Watson Chair Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change at the Sixth Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change". International Panel on Climate Change. Archived from the original on 4 June 2007.
  16. Leake, Jonathan (7 February 2010). "Top British scientist says UN panel is losing credibility". The Times. Sunday Times. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  17. Webster, Robin; Pagnamenta (15 February 2010). "UN must investigate warming 'bias', says former climate chief Every error exaggerated the impact of change". The Times. Sunday Times. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
Political offices
Preceded by
Bert Bolin 		Chairman of the IPCC
1997–2002		Succeeded by
Rajendra K. Pachauri
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