Test of FAITH
Resources for Churches from The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion

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Professor Sir John Houghton

Sir John Houghton is a climate scientist who has been working in the field for many decades. He has been involved in research and public policy decisions in both the UK and at the United Nations. He was Professor of Atmospheric Physics at Oxford University until 1983, where he pioneered new ways of observing the earth from space. He was Director General of the ‘Met office’, the UK’s weather forecasting and climate research centre, for eight years. He has been closely involved in the scientific evaluation of climate change and chaired the Scientific Assessment panel for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change until 2002.

John has given a lot of time to speaking and writing on the issues of climate change, and also on the relationship between Christianity and science. He is currently the President of the John Ray Initiative, a charity that connects environment, science and Christianity, and is a vice-president of Christians in Science. He is married to Sheila and they live in Wales, where they enjoy mountain walking and sailing. They have two children and seven grandchildren.