The UKNCSP was formed to draw together climate research capability from six Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) supported research centres and the Met Office. The partnership will enable world-class climate science to optimally inform key decisions. 

Commenting on the appointment, Dr Palmer who is also lead sea level and ocean heat content research scientist at the Met Office, said: “It’s a great honour and privilege to take on the role of UKNCSP Joint Director and have the opportunity to build on the great work started by my predecessor Cath Senior and the NERC Joint Director, Mike Meredith. 

“I look forward to working with colleagues across the Met Office, NERC-funded Centres and wider community to realise the enormous potential of UKNCSP for the benefit of UK Government and wider society.”

Dr Matthew Palmer photographed by Doug McNeall

Simon Vosper, Executive Director of Science at the Met Office said: "The UK already has great strengths in climate science, at the Met Office, the NERC Centres and in our universities. But together we can do so much more, and there's never been a more critical need for a national climate science partnership. The UKNCSP provides a fantastic opportunity to enhance the UK's position as a global leader in climate science for climate solutions, enabling us to tackle climate change and its impacts.  

I'd like to congratulate Matt on his appointment to this important role, and I look forward to seeing the partnership develop under his and Mike's joint leadership." 

What is the role of the partnership?   

The UKNCSP vision is to position the UK as a global leader in climate science for climate solutions. The Partnership facilitates the seamless generation and translation of climate knowledge across all sectors, producing climate evidence that is useful, usable and used. 

UKNCSP delivers information to help optimise policy decisions and investments, enhance national resilience, and sustain the future provision of climate evidence for the UK. 

  

Visit our UK National Climate Science partnership webpage to find out how the UK National Climate Science partnership is working to respond to threats posed by a rapidly changing climate, by putting climate science at the forefront of the solutions agenda in order to build resilience and adapt to the pressing challenges of the coming decades to stay safe and thrive.      

What has the UKNCSP been doing, and what is next?  

The partnership has commenced four Working Groups, drawing on expertise from across the centres:  

  • Climate modelling – optimise the development and use of climate simulations and projections, including CMIP7, and determine the best routes for uptake of new techniques including Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. 

  • Climate observations – Gather and address requirements for climate observations across science and stakeholders, nationally and internationally. 

  • Sea level rise – enhance our ability to determine the future trajectory and policy-relevant impacts of sea level changes, across the UK and overseas.  

  • Climate interventions – conduct the science needed to assess the efficacy, risks, costs and governance/ethical considerations concerning purposeful interventions of the climate system. 

The partnership has also started a series of webinars, with the first webinar exploring the UK’s contribution to CMIP7, and a webinar on Data to Impact coming up on 22nd May.  

UKNCSP spans the following organisations: Met Office, National Centre for Atmospheric Science, National Oceanography Centre, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, British Antarctic Survey, British Geological Survey and National Centre for Earth Observation.