cc: m.hulme@uea date: Fri, 18 Feb 2000 09:45:18 +0000 (GMT Standard Time) from: Ann Dixon subject: Message from Tim O'Riordan to: ssinger@wwfnet.org Dear Stephen I am writing to you to ask a favour. I am deeply involved in the bid for a joint research council funded interdisciplinary research centre on climate change. As you know dealing with climate change will test all of our institutions - science, politics, economics, social justice and our compassion for the planet and the health and wealth of future generations. I would be most grateful if you would send a note of support for the proposed Tyndall Centre should the three Research Councils involved (NERC, EPSRC, LSRC) agree to fund it. By doing this you will help our cause enormously. I can assure you that we will make the results of our efforts available to you and your colleagues. We would do this anyway, but your positive support would give us greater joy in doing so. I very much look forward to hearing from you in the near future. Please contact me on 01603 592840 if you wish to discuss any aspect of this bid further. Very best wishes Tim O'Riordan THE TYNDALL CENTRE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA The Tynall Centre is a proposed integrated research programme on climate change research located at the world-renowned School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia. It is a consortium of ten research organisations covering the science, renewable technology, economic modelling and political analysis of climate change adaptation and integration. If successful the Centre will be funded by a joint grant from the three principal Research Councils, The Natural Environment Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Research Council, at the Economic and Social Research Council. The collaborating institutions include the University of Cambridge, Southampton Oceanography Centre, Cranfield University, Science Policy Research Unit at Sussex, the University of Manchester Institute for Science and Technology, and the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield. The Tyndall Centre aims progressively to assist the human family and its leaders to understand more comprehensively the causes and consequences of climate change, across the globe, and at all points of human existence. To achieve this, the Centre will: · apply the finest interdisciplinary science to the modelling of climate futures, to analysing the associated consequences for economies and societies, and to evaluating the implications of various policy choices show how any future climate is actually a matter for humans to determine and to be responsible for. Hence the need for participatory involvement in the selection of appropriate climate futures · design and evaluate the most appropriate mix of technology, economic incentives, regulatory arrangements and business practices to create low carbon, high growth futures for all the world's peoples · evaluate how policy choices armed at mitigation and adaptation can best be made socially acceptable, economically efficient, ethically responsible, and timely · train the finest young scientists from all over the world to be better able to accomplish these objectives · enable all research findings to be shared and enriched by creative dialogue with governments, business, non-governmental organisations and civil society generally through interactive use of the internet, through education programmes, and through the print and broadcast media. To achieve all this, the Centre will co-ordinate six research programmes, namely · integrated assessments of climate and socio-economic futures · the technology, economics and politics of decarbonisation · designing and incorporating renewable energy into future economies · predicting and coping with large scale unexpected events · adapting to sea level rise · creating an effective dialogue between governments and all stakeholders to generate appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies. The Centre will be supervised by a powerful and experienced management team. It will continually evaluate and enrich its performance with reference to the requirements of stakeholders, policy needs and public opinion. At all times the Centre will seek to be regarded as authoritative, responsive and transparent in its research effort. For further information, please contact Dr. Mike Hulme - m.hulme@uea.ac.uk CC Mike Hulme Mrs. Ann Dixon CSERGE Secretary CSERGE School of Environmental Science University of East Anglia Norwich NR4 7TJ UK Tel: +44 (0)1603 593176 Fax: +44 (0)1603 250588 E-mail: m.a.dixon@uea.ac.uk