Contents
Acknowledgements and dedication
The Committee would like to thank the team that prepared this report and its analysis: Sasha Abraham, Rose Armitage, Miriam Kennedy and Viv Scott, led by Chris Stark, James Richardson and Richard Millar, with contributions from Robbie Herring, Luke Jones, Daisy Jameson, Owen Bellamy, Emily Nurse, Tom Dooks and Sophie Vipond.
Dedication
This report is dedicated to the memory of our colleague, friend and veteran of UN climate negotiations Pete Betts who passed away in October 2023.
Pete spent 35 years as a UK civil servant, serving as director of international climate change at Defra and subsequently DECC and its successor department BEIS for ten years from 2008-2018, during which time he worked closely with the Committee.
From 2010 to 2016 he was the Lead Negotiator for the European Union in the United Nations climate change negotiations. Here he was a key architect of the 2015 Paris Agreement, building the relationships and finding common ground with all countries that enabled its successful negotiation to establish the framework and goals for international climate action to which we and many around the rest of the world now work to help achieve every day.
Following his retirement from the UK Civil Service. Pete worked for a number of international and UK organisations. He served as an expert advisor to the Climate Change Committee during 2020-2022, covering the 2021 United Nations COP26 climate negotiations hosted by the UK in Glasgow. His contribution to the Committee’s work was immense.
Pete was dedicated to making progress on climate action through dialogue and negotiation, combining a willingness to listen, understand and recognise concerns with a commitment to always respectfully challenging positions and asking how more could be done. His passion, energy and humour are much missed, and we extend our deepest sympathies to his family and colleagues in climate across the world.
