We are very privileged to be welcoming Professor Peter Stott of the Met Office and Exeter University, who will be presenting his newly published book, 'Hot Air, The Inside Story of the Battle Against Climate Change Denial'. Peter is a leading expert in the field of climate change research and a major contributor to reports of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).

For details of location, date and time, see under Dates for Your Diary.

Peter was the recipient of the Climate Science Communications Award for 2018 from the Royal Meteorological Society and was named by Foreign Policy Magazine as one of the world's leading Global Thinkers for 2013.
He thinks it is important to communicate scientific findings about climate to the public and has given many media interviews, including on TV, radio and to many print journalists. He also appeared in documentaries for Channel 4 and National Geographic TV about Extreme Weather and Climate Change. Notably, he featured in the BBC documentary, 'Climate Change; The Facts', presented by David Attenburgh. He has written articles for New Scientist, the Guardian and a Carbon Brief blog on recent floods.

Copies of Peter's book will be on sale at the event at the discounted price of £13.99, saving £5.00 on the usual retail price. Card payments accepted.

Tickets: £5 each, free for full time students, preferably in advance from Eventbrite or on the door, subject to availability.

 BOOK REVIEW

The shocking inside story of the fight to halt climate change over the past twenty-five years by a world-renowned scientist.

Ours is the age of global warming. Rising sea levels, extreme weather, forest fires. Dire warnings are everywhere, so why has it taken so long for the crisis to be recognised?

Here, for the first time, climate scientist Peter Stott reveals the bitter fight to get international recognition for what, among scientists, has been known for decades: human activity causes climate change. Across continents and against the efforts of sceptical governments, prominent climate change deniers and shadowy lobbyists, Hot Air is the urgent story of how the science was developed, how it has been repeatedly sabotaged and why humanity hasn't a second to spare in the fight to halt climate change.

Professor Peter Stott is a Science Fellow in Climate Attribution at the Met Office's Hadley Centre and Professor in Detection and Attribution at the University of Exeter. He has played a leading role in the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and has been published in Nature and Science among many other journals. Peter will be leading the Science Pavilion at COP26 for the Met Office.

Advance praise for Hot Air

'Hot Air is a compelling indictment of the people and organisations that, for whatever reason, refuse to accept the evidence of human-induced global warming. The scientific case for this has been clear for more than thirty years. It is disappointing that there is still a need for this book, but gratifying to find such a clear exposition of the science and the politics. The most important book you are likely to see this year.' John Gribbin

'Hot Air provides a deep insight into the nasty, iniquitous, and nefarious tactics used to deny the reality of climate change. Peter Stott's first-hand account brilliantly documents the 30-year war against climate scientists in the name of fossil fuels, political expedience, and climate denial.' Prof. Mark Maslin, author of 'How to Save Our Planet'

'A rare and gripping insight into the drama behind the UN's landmark science reports shaping how the world responds to rising temperatures. With the feel of a past-faced thriller, Peter Stott takes the reader on a tense and sometimes painful journey through battles with climate deniers and oil-rich powers. It's a book that reveals the exhilarating triumphs and personal challenges of the researchers discovering how our planet is changing.' David Shukman, science editor BBC News.

'Peter Stott has been a key figure both in demonstrating the strength of climate science and in fighting the climate deniers, and Hot Air is a thrilling, enthralling and, yes, enraging account of his years at the heart of the most important battle of our time.' Rowan Hooper, New Scientist, author of How To Spend A Trillion Dollars

 'A riveting despatch from the frontline of the fight against climate change. Essential reading for anyone interested in the greatest threat human society has ever faced.' Michael McCarthy, former Environment Editor, The Independent, and author of The Moth Snowstorm

 'Gripping, urgent and human... Stott provides a unique 'eye-of-the-storm' perspective on the story of the century.' Leo Hickman, director of Carbon Brief

'In today's world climate scientists don't just do science. As Peter Stott reveals in this extraordinary story, over recent years climatologists have also had to do battle with fossil fuel-financed deniers with a dark and dangerous agenda -- that of blocking international action to tackle the most pressing crisis of our times, global planetary heating.' Mark Lynas, author of Six Degrees

'This important book lays out many of the stories behind the most important science in human history: the effort to prove, against the well-funded denialists and vested interests, that the planet was heating, that humans were responsible, and that we better take swift action. If there are historians around someday to tell this epic story in all its complexity, they will lean heavily on this account.' Bill McKibben, author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?