Abstract: Bob Watson will discuss the current and projected state of climate, biodiversity, land degradation and pollution and their inter-connections, the underlying drivers of change, their impact on human well-being, and potential response measures by the full range of actors, including the World Bank. He will also discuss the failure to meet the biodiversity Aichi targets, the limited progress towards achieving the Paris climate targets, the current political situation, and what we can expect from the upcoming Conference of Parties meetings for Biodiversity (COP-15 in China) and Climate (COP-26 in the UK).
Speaker:
Professor Sir Robert Tony Watson CMG FRS is a former Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Prof. Watson is one of the most influential environmental scientists worldwide, contributing to multiple scientific assessments to inform international and national policies and actions. Most recently, he is lead author of the February 2021 U.N. report Making Peace with Nature: A scientific blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies.
Sir Watson (or Bob Watson as he is known to his friends) is a British chemist who has worked on atmospheric science issues including ozone depletion, global warming and paleoclimatology since the 1980s. Among key positions held during his career, he was Chief Scientist at the UK Department of Food, Environment, and Rural Affairs; Chief Scientist and Director for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development at the World Bank; Associate Director for Environment in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President in the White House; and 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 Chaired and co-Chaired several influential scientific assessments, including: Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); co-Chair of IPCC Working Group II; co-Chair of UNEP’s Global Biodiversity Assessment; co-Chair of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science & Technology for Development; Board of Directors of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment; and multiple International Scientific Assessments of Stratospheric Ozone.
Watson has received many national and international awards and prizes for his contributions to science, including the Asahi Glass Blue Planet Prize and UN Champion of the World for Science and Innovation. He was knighted in the 2012 New Year Honours for his government service.
Chair: Anis Dani
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