David S. Reay is a

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

scientist, author, and professor of

carbon management Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases or removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caused by emissions from fossil fuels b ...

and education at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

.Dave Reay's He serves as co-chair of the Just Transition Commission, and served as executive director of the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute and policy director of ClimateXChange between January 2020 and January 2024.

Education

Reay was educated at the University of Essex where he was awarded a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in 1999 for research on the utilisation of inorganic

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

by bacteria and

microalgae Microalgae or microphytes are microscopic algae invisible to the naked eye. They are phytoplankton typically found in freshwater and marine systems, living in both the water column and sediment. They are unicellular species which exist indiv ...

Research and career

Reay's research focuses on

greenhouse gas A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs and Emission (electromagnetic radiation), emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse ...

fluxes and

land use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long h ...

, including national and international research projects such as CarboEurope and NitroEurope, and research council-funded work through the UK's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Reay's key peer reviewed publications include novel work on global

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with o ...

sinks, the soil

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Eart ...

sink, and

nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or nos, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula . At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has a ...

emissions from aquatic systems. His work on nitrous oxide featured in the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to advance scientific knowledge about climate change caused by human activities. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) a ...

(IPCC) Fourth and Fifth Assessment Reports. In addition to his contributions to the understanding of greenhouse gas fluxes, Reay has written widely on climate change policy and society, particularly on individual and community action. He now advises the Scottish and

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s on climate action, especially around climate change skills and green jobs

Climate change

Reay has authored several books on

, including the popular science books ''Climate-smart Food'', ''Nitrogen and Climate Change'', ''Climate Change Begins at Home'' published in 2005 by

Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...

and shortlisted for the Times Higher Young Academic Author of the Year Award, and ''Your Planet Needs You!'' published in 2009 by Macmillan Children's Books. He is also lead editor of ''Greenhouse Gas Sinks'' published in 2007 by CABI and creator and editor of the climate change science website Greenhouse Gas Online.

Service and leadership

Reay chaired the Scottish Government's Climate Emergency Skills Implementation Group and the UK Climate Change Committee's Expert Advisory Panel on Workforce & Skills. He was also a member of the UK Government's Green Jobs Taskforce and was the creator of the award-winning

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

(MSc) course in

management at the University of Edinburgh. He is very active in climate change knowledge exchange, both nationally and internationally, being a regular media commentator on climate change issues, advising on and appearing in the BBC's ''Can We Save Planet Earth''

Are We Changing Planet Earth? ''Are We Changing Planet Earth?'' and ''Can We Save Planet Earth?'' are two programmes that form a documentary about global warming, presented by David Attenborough. They were first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 24 May and 1 June 2006 res ...

film with

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

, and frequently providing expert evidence on climate change to select committees in the Westminster and Holyrood Parliaments. Knowledge exchange information, University of Edinburgh. His former doctoral students include

Hannah Ritchie Hannah Ritchie (born 1993) is a British data scientist, senior researcher at the University of Oxford in the Oxford Martin School and head of research at ''Our World in Data''. Her research investigates the assessment of global food systems and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reay, David Climate change in Scotland Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Academics of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society