Reflections on Hosting the IPCC at the University of Reading
Last night I had the privilege of joining colleagues from the University of Reading and guests from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for a dinner held alongside a two-day series of international workshops on our campus. Around 150 people gathered — including academics, scientists, policymakers and practitioners — united by a shared seriousness of purpose: strengthening the global evidence base on climate change, and ensuring it continues to inform action in every corner of the world.
The University of Reading is proud to host these workshops, in partnership with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Met Office, bringing together diverse voices and perspectives to shape the future of IPCC assessments. It is a reminder that the purpose of the IPCC's work is not simply academic. It is foundational to global decision-making, public trust, and ultimately the future resilience of our planet.
What struck me most over dinner was the depth of expertise in the room, as well as the sense of humility and responsibility that comes with it. These are people who understand the scale of the challenge, and who carry the burden of evidence with extraordinary care.
And as Chancellor of the University, it felt particularly poignant to welcome the IPCC to Reading in our centenary year.
A century is an important unit of comparison for climate science. It is noticeable that, within the lifetime of our institution, scientists around the world have observed significant changes to average temperatures, along with shifts in regional patterns of aspects of our climate such as rainfall.
It is striking that these changes are evident, not just in complex computer models or future forecasts of what our climate will be in the next 10, 50 or 100 years, but from old-fashioned, day-to-day observations of weather conditions around the world, using tried-and-tested technology.
The "warming stripes", made famous by Professor Ed Hawkins from Reading, are particularly powerful, not because they show what scientists think will happen in the future. Instead, they show in a single image what has already happened to our average temperatures in the past - with a striking shift towards red, representing hotter than average years.
This can be seen at a global level, as well as in every country in the world. There is no hiding place from the impacts of our changing climate.
The vital job of the IPCC is to understand and analyse the latest evidence on climate change, as well as its impacts and the options to mitigate them. The scientific evidence of how humans are changing the climate of the planet as a whole is being rapidly supplemented by how those changes are impacting the regions and locations where we live. As individuals, humans only occupy small points in space and time - but even at an individual, personal level, we are already feeling the impacts of our changing climate.
And as if to underline the point, the University’s Atmospheric Observatory is currently in the middle of recording the longest spell of continuous rainfall ever measured here, with 31 consecutive days of rain so far (and as I write, still counting...). That coincidence, with the the world’s leading climate scientists arriving in Reading during a record-breaking run of of rainy days, was hard to ignore. While no single weather event of this nature can be solely attributed to climate change, the increased risks from more extreme weather events are precisely what the scientific community has been warning us about, since the signs of global warming were first detected, almost a century ago.
This is why the work of the IPCC matters so profoundly. Trusted evidence is not an optional extra. It is the foundation of good policy and good leadership.
It is also why universities like Reading have a vital role to play — not only through world-class research, but through the ability to communicate complex science in ways the public can understand.
We are also committed to developing the next generation of climate leaders through initiatives such as our Global Sustainability Leaders Scholarship, open to students across all disciplines, from science and engineering to languages, communications and the arts. Because addressing the climate crisis will not only require brilliant research, but brilliant communication, cultural change, and public engagement.
Last night’s gathering was a reminder of what serious collaboration looks like and why it matters. I left the dinner feeling proud that Reading is playing its part, and grateful to the IPCC and those who support it, providing integrity and rigour to the debate around perhaps the world’s most urgent challenge.
The conversations will continue over the final days of workshops in Reading, and while the scale of the challenge can feel daunting, the depth of commitment I witnessed last night gives me real hope that progress is possible.
Paul Lindley
Chancellor, University of Reading