Statement by the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, John P. Holdren, on Christopher Field's Candidacy for Chairmanship of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

“Today the State Department announced the candidacy of Stanford University Professor Dr. Christopher Field for the position of Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC’s rigorous scientific reports provide a shared foundation for the global community’s efforts to better understand and combat climate change – a defining challenge of our time. Dr. Field is exceptionally qualified to lead this important work. He has conducted pioneering research in an array of climaterelevant domains; served in leadership roles at world-renowned academic institutions; and led or contributed to a number of major IPCC reports – including, most recently, serving as co-chair of the IPCC’s working group focused on climate-change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Beyond these achievements, Dr. Field demonstrates commitment to scientific integrity and extraordinary aptitude in facilitating cooperation, collaboration, and consensus-building among a diversity of scientific perspectives and disciplines. For these reasons, Dr. Field is a superb candidate to Chair the IPCC, and I very much hope that he will be selected for this critically important role.”