David King

Sir David King, leading chemist, academic, and Climate Crisis Advisory, is revered and respected throughout the world. He is best known as the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor from 2000-2007, and the Special Representative for Climate Change from 2013-2017. No stranger to speaking in front of large audiences from his career working as a Professor, David is now a sustainability speaker, having previously spoken at events such as the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

Originally born and educated in South Africa, David moved to the UK and started his career in academia as a Shell Scholar at Imperial College London, before moving to the University of East Anglia as a Lecturer at the School of Chemical Sciences. Demonstrating his innate ability in the chemistry department, David later became the Bruner Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Liverpool. Paving the way for future chemists, leaving his mark for generations to come. Highly regarded in the field, David also had prominent roles at both the University of Cambridge, and Oxford University, as the Head of the Department and Professor in Chemistry and the Founding Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, respectively. As a testament to his work in his field, David has been awarded 22 Honorary Degrees from Universities across the world.

Besides his renown career in academics, David has worked closely with the UK government to help combat issues on climate control. He has served under four prime ministers and has been director of the government’s foresight programme, during which he mapped out the future of issues such as obesity and flooding. He has also been instrumental in creating the Energy Technologies Institute. In 2015 he led the launch of Mission Innovation, a collaborative programme between 22 countries which spend $22 billion per year on Resources and Development, which deliver technologies needed in the post-fossil-fuel era. Other prominent roles include being the Strategy Advisor for the president of Rwanda and the Senior Scientific Advisor to UBS from 2008-2013.

A true expert in his fields, David has published over 500 papers on science and policy, receiving numerous awards and in 2022, David was honoured with the David and Betty Hamburg Award for Science Diplomacy by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). If you are looking for one of the most respected and trusted climate change and energy speakers, having also previously given advice for the House of Commons, look no further than David King.

In May 2023 we sat down virtually with Sir David King and discussed how we can build a sustainable future. Watch our Exclusive Interview with Sir David King.