Nigel Topping CMG has been appointed as Chair of the Climate
Change Committee (CCC) by the UK and devolved
governments today (22 July).
This follows the Secretary of State, , and the Northern Irish, Welsh and Scottish devolved
government Ministers selecting Nigel Topping as the preferred
candidate for the role, as well as a successful pre-appointment
hearing in front of the Energy Security and Net Zero and
Environmental Audit Committees on Wednesday 16
July.
The Energy Secretary has written to Nigel Topping to confirm his
appointment, welcoming him to the role and confirming his
confidence in him to lead the Climate Change Committee. He has
also written to Professor Piers Forster, to thank him for his
leadership as interim Chair of the CCCfollowing Lord Deben's
departure in 2023.
The Chair will play a key role in the committee's work of
advising government on the delivery of its carbon budgets, with a
critical few years ahead as the government accelerates to net
zero as part of its clean energy superpower mission.
Energy Secretary, , said:
I want to congratulate Nigel Topping on his appointment as Chair
of the Climate Change Committee.
We highly value the Climate Change Committee's independent advice
on how we can achieve net zero, so I am thrilled to have Nigel in
this important role – as he brings extensive experience,
including from his time serving as the UN High Level Climate Action Champion for
COP26.
Net zero is the economic opportunity of the 21st century and
Nigel's business expertise will help us to maximise on this
opportunity as we deliver our clean energy superpower mission –
boosting energy security, creating good jobs, bringing down bills
and tackling the climate crisis.
Nigel Topping, Chair of the Climate Change Committee, said:
It is an honour to be appointed Chair of the Climate Change
Committee at this pivotal moment. The UK has an opportunity to
deliver on its climate commitments in a way that reduces costs
for households, powers our industries forward, and makes our
economy more successful. It's also important to ensure resilience
against growing climate impacts and I look forward to working
with Baroness Brown who leads our adaptation
work.
I'd like to offer my sincere thanks to Professor Piers Forster,
who has been our interim Chair since stepped down. He has led the
Committee through an incredibly busy period overseeing advice on
the UK's Seventh Carbon Budget, three devolved carbon budgets,
and a number of key progress reports to
government.
I am committed to upholding the rigour and independent nature of
the Committee's advice, while harnessing our country's wealth of
scientific, financial and business talent.
Nigel Topping's selection follows a competitive recruitment
process in line with the Governance Code for Public
Appointments.
Notes to Editors
The UK government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government, and
Northern Ireland Executive agreed to appoint Nigel Topping. The
decision-making Ministers were:
-
MP, Secretary of State for
Energy Security and Net Zero
-
MLA, Minister of
Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland
Executive
-
MSP, Cabinet Secretary
for Climate Action and Energy, Scottish Government
-
MS, Deputy First Minister of
Wales and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural
Affairs, Welsh Government
Nigel Topping's term as Chair will begin on Wednesday 23 July.
