Sir Crispin Tickell

Director of the Policy Foresight Programme, James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization, Oxford University

"It was through study of history that I first became aware of the impacts of climate change on civilization. It came as a shock to realize how rapid such change had been, and could be in the future. This led to my book on Climatic Change and World Affairs in 1977, and my role since then as an advisor to successive British Prime Ministers. The problems have now greatly increased, and the world is better aware of them. We are now struggling to mitigate the effects and adapt ourselves to them. Hence the Copenhagen Climate Council."

Sir Crispin Tickell is born in 1930. A former member of the British Diplomatic Service, Sir Crispin served as the Chef de Cabinet to the President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. He then became the British Ambassador to Mexico from 1981-1983. Subsequently he served as the Deputy Under-Secretary of State (Economic) in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1983-84 and then as Permanent Secretary in the Overseas Development Administration (ODA) from 1984-1987. From 1987 to 1990 Sir Crispin was the British Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Permanent Representative on the UN Security Council.

Sir Crispin Tickell is currently the Director of the Policy Foresight Programme at the James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization at Oxford University. He is associated with other British universities as well as universities in the United States. His main interests are in the field of the environment and international affairs

His most recent posts have been as

Chairman of the Board of the Climate Institute of Washington DC 1990 - 2002, and Chairman Emeritus since 2002.
Convenor of the Government Panel on Sustainable Development 1994 - 2000
Chairman of the Gaia Society 1998 - 2001
Chairman of the Gaia Special Interest Group of the Geological Society of London since 2000
Chairman of the International Institute for Environment and Development 1990 - 1994
Chairman of Earthwatch Europe 1991-1997
Chairman of the Advisory Committee on the Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species 1992 - 1999
Chairman of the Advisory Committee on the Environment (ACE) of the International Council for Science 1999 - 2004
Senior Inaugural Visiting Fellow at Harvard University Center for the Environment 2002 - 2003.

After leaving the diplomatic service Sir Crispin has worked within numerous national and international scientific academic and professional organizations. From 1990-1993 he served as the President of the Royal Geographical Society, and from 1990 to 1997 he was the Warden of Green College at the University of Oxford from 1990 to 1997. In addition he was the Convenor of the British Government Panel on Sustainable Development from 1994 to 2000. Sir Crispin is the author of Climate Change and World Affairs (1977 and 1986), a volume which appeared one year after he had been a visiting Fellow at the Center for International Affairs at Harvard University (1975-76). Written initially long before current greenhouse gases were publicly debated, this study was one of the first studies to underscore the importance of climate issues in the realm of international relations. In addition he has contributed to many other books on environmental issues including human population and biodiversity. In November 2000 prior to the climate conference held in the European city of The Hague, Sir Crispin participated in a special BBC global broadcast on the implications of global warming both in Britain and around the world.

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