Professor James Renwick loves talking about the science underlying climate change, and his willingness to engage with a wide breadth of people has won him the 2018 Prime Minister’s Science Communication Prize.
The Victoria University of Wellington climatologist says that talking about the problem and about possible solutions is important.
Professor James Renwick, winner of the 2018 Prime Minister's Science Communication Prize. Photo: Supplied
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In the past five years James has been involved in more than 100 public presentations, given more than 200 media interviews, and presented at numerous conferences. This includes leading the organising committee for the 2016 and 2018 Pacific Climate Change Conferences.
He has contributed to the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which informs global agreements on climate change action, and is currently a convening lead author for the next IPCC Assessment Report due in 2021.
James says it’s “a great honour” to win the prize.
“I feel humbled and privileged. I’m grateful for the support and research of a large network of scientists and communicators from all over the world.
“If winning this award helps to further the conversation around taking action on climate change and brings more visibility to the issue then that’s fantastic. All I really want to see is us getting on top of the problem and avoiding the worst possible futures.”
