The new appointees will support efforts to prepare and adapt the UK for climate change.

The Adaptation Committee is comprised of experts in the fields of climate change impacts, science, environmental economics, conservation, public health and business, and provides independent, expert advice on preparing for and adapting to climate change to UK and devolved governments and parliaments. 

Professor Evans and Dr Romanello’s appointments will run from 1st November 2024 to 31st October 2027. Professor Fowler’s appointment will run from 1 February 2025 to 31 January 2028.

The appointments have been made in line with the guidance set out in the Ministerial Governance Code for Public Appointments.

Crucial time for adaptation

Professor Fowler, Professor of Climate Change Impacts at Newcastle University’s School of Engineering, said: “I am delighted and honoured to be joining the Adaptation Committee as an expert in infrastructure, following my previous two colleagues from Newcastle University, Professor Jim Hall and Professor Richard Dawson. The impacts from climate change are worsening every year and the risks are growing. The need for adaptation has never been greater, yet action is lagging behind this need.

“This is a crucial time for adaptation, as we invest huge sums in Net Zero, and while increasingly frequent extreme weather events, and particularly flooding, are causing serious infrastructure failures across Europe and worldwide. This rapid rise in extreme weather means we must reach Net Zero as soon as possible.

“We have the opportunity to use this investment to improve our ageing infrastructure systems to increase societal resilience to extreme weather, and to provide multiple other benefits around nature recovery. I am looking forward to working with the Adaptation Committee, the UK Government, the Devolved Governments and the private sector to help make this happen and to close the adaptation gap.

Hayley is Professor of Climate Change Impacts in the School of Engineering at Newcastle University. Her research focuses on improved physical understanding of changing precipitation extremes and providing better projections for climate adaptation. She has pioneered new techniques to bridge the gap between climate modellers and users of climate scenarios. Hayley completed a BA in Geography at Cambridge University (1996) before moving to Newcastle University for an MSc in Water Resource Systems Engineering (1997) and PhD in climate change impacts on water resources (2000). She is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (2018) and was a Royal Society Wolfson Research Fellow (2014-19) for her work on understanding climate change impacts on hydrological systems, extreme rainfall and flooding, following a Philip Leverhulme Prize (2011) and NERC Postdoctoral Fellowship (2006-10).

Adapted with thanks from Defra.