Prof Emily Shuckburgh OBE appointed Honorary President of the Aldersgate Group

Today, the Aldersgate Group announces the appointment of climate scientist Prof Emily Shuckburgh OBE as its new Honorary President. She will take over from former Honorary President, Dame Fiona Woolf DBE. Prof Shuckburgh will provide strategic scientific advice to help guide the Aldersgate Group’s objectives and work programme. 

Prof Shuckburgh is a leading public voice on climate science and brings unparalleled academic experience and insights to the Aldersgate Group. She is currently Director of Cambridge Zero, the University of Cambridge’s major climate change initiative, which she joined following more than a decade at the British Antarctic Survey leading a national research programme on the Southern Ocean and its role in climate.

She is also a fellow of the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership, the British Antarctic Survey and the Royal Meteorological Society, and co-authored the Ladybird Book on Climate Change with HRH The Prince of Wales and Tony Juniper. To mark her outstanding achievements to date, Prof Shuckburgh was awarded an OBE in 2016 for services to science and the public communication of science.

Prof Shuckburgh joins the Aldersgate Group at the start of a critical year for delivering meaningful progress on climate change and the environment. The pledges made at COP26, the UK’s Net Zero Strategy and the Environment Act collectively set a clear roadmap to decarbonise the economy and restore the natural environment. A key focus for the Aldersgate Group in 2022 will be to ensure that these targets and ambitions are underpinned by detailed domestic policies that will drive affordable business investment in low carbon infrastructure, biodiversity and nature at the pace and scale called for by science.

Prof Emily Shuckburgh OBE said:

“With carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere approaching 420 ppm, global temperature rise passing 1.1C and extreme weather becoming normality, climate commitments must be translated into action today to avert disaster. I am delighted to take on the role of Honorary President to support the Aldersgate Group and its cross-sectoral membership in promoting an accelerated, just transition to a resilient and sustainable zero-carbon economy. As the world emerges from the pandemic, it is vitally important that the voice of progressive business is heard clearly to ensure the world sets forth towards a prosperous green future.” 

Rt Hon Theresa May MP, Chair of the Aldersgate Group, said:

“To play its part in preventing the worst impacts from climate change, it is essential that the UK economy cut emissions to meet our interim targets. This will also allow the UK to develop a globally competitive low carbon economy which will deliver investment and jobs across the country. I look forward to working with Prof Shuckburgh to ensure that the Aldersgate Group’s work rises to the challenge.” 

Nick Molho, Executive Director, Aldersgate Group, said:

“I would like to thank Dame Fiona Woolf for the six years of service she dedicated to the Group and the strong links she helped the Aldersgate Group build with a wide cross-section of the business community in the UK.

“We are delighted to welcome Prof Shuckburgh as our new Honorary President. The Aldersgate Group and its members firmly believe that ambitious climate and environmental policies can improve living standards and deliver significant economic benefits in terms of innovation, investment in new supply chains and job creation across the country. Prof Shuckburgh’s expertise will help us ensure that our policy work continues to be grounded in the latest evidence and is in line with the speed and scale of action demanded by science.”

Dame Fiona Woolf DBE, former Honorary President of the Aldersgate Group, said:

“It has been a wonderful opportunity to be the Honorary President of the Aldersgate Group for six years. The Aldersgate Group is unique in understanding the critical role that ambitious businesses across the economy want and need to play to tackle climate change and I am proud to have been able to strengthen these relationships. I would like to wish Prof Emily Shuckburgh every success as she joins the Aldersgate Group at a critical time for the climate and environmental agenda.”