Mike Hulme
Encyclopedia
Mike Hulme is a professor of Climate Change
in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia
(UEA). He was educated at Madras College
, St.Andrews, and at the universities of Durham
and Wales (Swansea)
. In 1988, after four years lecturing in geography at the University of Salford
, he became for 12 years a senior researcher in the Climatic Research Unit
, part of the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia
. In October 2000 he founded the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, a distributed virtual network organisation headquartered at UEA, which he directed until July 2007.
" published in 2009 by Cambridge University Press
and which was named by The Economist
in December 2009 as one of their four Books of Year for science and technology. He has also edited the books "Climates of the British Isles: present, past and future", "Climate policy options post-2012: European strategy, technology and adaptation after Kyoto" co-edited with Bert Metz
and Michael Grubb and in 2010, co-edited with Henry Neufeldt, "Making Climate Change Work For Us: European Perspectives on Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies".
In 2008, Hulme made a personal statement on what he called the "5 lessons of climate change", which were "Climate change is a relative risk, not an absolute one", "Climate risks are serious, and we should seek to minimise them", "Our world has huge unmet development needs", "Our current energy portfolio is not sustainable", "Massive and deliberate geo-engineering of the planet is a dubious practice".
After the Climatic Research Unit email controversy
he wrote an article for the BBC
in which he said, "At the very least, the publication of private CRU e-mail correspondence should be seen as a wake-up call for scientists - and especially for climate scientists.
The key lesson to be learnt is that not only must scientific knowledge about climate change be publicly owned - the IPCC does a fair job of this according to its own terms - but that in the new century of digital communication and an active citizenry, the very practices of scientific enquiry must also be publicly owned".
In another article for the BBC, in November 2006, he warned against the dangers of using alarmist language when communicating climate change science.
Mike Hulme is one of the authors of the Hartwell Paper
, published by the London School of Economics
in collaboration with the University of Oxford
in May 2010. The authors argued that, after what they regard as the failure of the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit, the Kyoto Protocol crashed. They claimed that Kyoto had "failed to produce any discernable real world reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases in fifteen years." They argued that this failure opened an opportunity to set climate policy free from Kyoto and the paper advocates a controversial and piecemeal approach to decarbonization
of the global economy.
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
(UEA). He was educated at Madras College
Madras College
Madras College is a secondary school in St. Andrews, Fife in Scotland.-History:Madras College, founded in 1832, takes its name from the system of education devised by the school's founder, the Rev Dr Andrew Bell....
, St.Andrews, and at the universities of Durham
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
and Wales (Swansea)
Swansea University
Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
. In 1988, after four years lecturing in geography at the University of Salford
University of Salford
The University of Salford is a campus university based in Salford, Greater Manchester, England with approximately 20,000 registered students. The main campus is about west of Manchester city centre, on the A6, opposite the former home of the physicist, James Prescott Joule and the Working Class...
, he became for 12 years a senior researcher in the Climatic Research Unit
Climatic Research Unit
The Climatic Research Unit is a component of the University of East Anglia and is one of the leading institutions concerned with the study of natural and anthropogenic climate change....
, part of the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
. In October 2000 he founded the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, a distributed virtual network organisation headquartered at UEA, which he directed until July 2007.
Publications and views about climate change
He is the author of "Why We Disagree About Climate ChangeWhy We Disagree About Climate Change
Why We Disagree About Climate Change: Understanding Controversy, Inaction and Opportunity was written by Mike Hulme and was published by the Cambridge University Press in 2009. As of May 2011 it has sold over 11,000 copies and was jointly awarded the 2010 Gerald L Young Prize for the best book in...
" published in 2009 by Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
and which was named by The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
in December 2009 as one of their four Books of Year for science and technology. He has also edited the books "Climates of the British Isles: present, past and future", "Climate policy options post-2012: European strategy, technology and adaptation after Kyoto" co-edited with Bert Metz
Bert Metz
Bert Metz is a Dutch climatologist. He was Co-chair of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group III on mitigation on climate change for the third and fourth assessment report of the IPCC...
and Michael Grubb and in 2010, co-edited with Henry Neufeldt, "Making Climate Change Work For Us: European Perspectives on Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies".
In 2008, Hulme made a personal statement on what he called the "5 lessons of climate change", which were "Climate change is a relative risk, not an absolute one", "Climate risks are serious, and we should seek to minimise them", "Our world has huge unmet development needs", "Our current energy portfolio is not sustainable", "Massive and deliberate geo-engineering of the planet is a dubious practice".
After the Climatic Research Unit email controversy
Climatic Research Unit email controversy
The Climatic Research Unit email controversy began in November 2009 with the hacking of a server at the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia...
he wrote an article for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in which he said, "At the very least, the publication of private CRU e-mail correspondence should be seen as a wake-up call for scientists - and especially for climate scientists.
The key lesson to be learnt is that not only must scientific knowledge about climate change be publicly owned - the IPCC does a fair job of this according to its own terms - but that in the new century of digital communication and an active citizenry, the very practices of scientific enquiry must also be publicly owned".
In another article for the BBC, in November 2006, he warned against the dangers of using alarmist language when communicating climate change science.
Mike Hulme is one of the authors of the Hartwell Paper
The Hartwell Paper
The Hartwell Paper calls for a reorientation of climate policy after the perceived failure in 2009 of the UNFCCC climate conference in Copenhagen. The paper was published in May 2010 by the London School of Economics in cooperation with the University of Oxford. The authors are 14 natural and...
, published by the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
in collaboration with the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in May 2010. The authors argued that, after what they regard as the failure of the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit, the Kyoto Protocol crashed. They claimed that Kyoto had "failed to produce any discernable real world reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases in fifteen years." They argued that this failure opened an opportunity to set climate policy free from Kyoto and the paper advocates a controversial and piecemeal approach to decarbonization
Low-carbon economy
A Low-Carbon Economy or Low-Fossil-Fuel Economy is an economy that has a minimal output of greenhouse gas emissions into the environment biosphere, but specifically refers to the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide...
of the global economy.