Bert Rickard Johannes Bolin (; 15 May 1925 – 30 December 2007) was a Swedish

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

who served as the first chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), from 1988 to 1997. He was professor of meteorology at Stockholm University from 1961 until his retirement in 1990.

Background

Bolin was born in Nyköping, Sweden Rodhe, H. (1991). Bert Bolin and his scientific career, ''Tellus'' 43AB (4), 3–7. and graduated from

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

in 1946. He earned a master's degree in 1949 and a doctorate in 1956, both in meteorology, at Stockholm University. During his doctorate he spent a year in 1950 at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

in Princeton, New Jersey, where he worked with Jule Charney,

John von Neumann John von Neumann (; hu, Neumann János Lajos, ; December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist, engineer and polymath. He was regarded as having perhaps the widest cove ...

and others on the first computerized weather forecast, using

ENIAC ENIAC (; Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first programmable, electronic, general-purpose digital computer, completed in 1945. There were other computers that had these features, but the ENIAC had all of them in one pac ...

, the first electronic computer.Bert Bolin Centre for Climate Research
About Bert Bolin
, accessed 7 December 2018 Bolin's marriage to Ulla Frykstrand ended in divorce in 1979; they had three children: Dan, Karina and Göran. Bolin resided in Österskär, northeast of Stockholm where he also died aged 82. He remained active until shortly before his death.

Career and awards

Bolin was Professor of Meteorology at Stockholm University 1961–1990, and involved in international climate research cooperation from the 1960s. Bolin was involved in organising use of the new

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...

tools for climate research, which led to the formation of the ICSU Committee on Atmospheric Sciences (CAS) in 1964, with Bolin becoming its first Chairman. CAS started the Global Atmospheric Research Programme (GARP) in 1967, which Bolin also chaired; GARP became the

World Climate Research Programme The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) is an international programme that helps to coordinate global climate research. The WCRP was established in 1980, under the joint sponsorship of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Inter ...

in 1980. Bolin served on the

Advisory Group on Greenhouse Gases The Advisory Group on Greenhouse Gases, created in 1986, was an advisory body for the review of studies into the greenhouse effect. The group was created by the International Council of Scientific Unions, the United Nations Environment Programme, a ...

from 1985. In 1987, the 500-page Brundtland Report which Bolin was involved with contributed to the setting up of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).''The Guardian'', 9 January 2008
Bert Bolin:Swedish meteorologist who persuaded the world to take climate change seriously
/ref> Under his chairmanship (from 1988 to 1997), the IPCC produced its First Assessment Report (1990) and Second Assessment Report (1995), contributing to the IPCC sharing the 2007

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

with former US Vice President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

. Bolin was asked to accept the Prize on behalf of the IPCC, but was too ill to attend. Bolin is credited with bringing together a diverse range of views among the panel's 3,500 scientists into something resembling a consensus.Nick Sundt, The first report led to the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system", in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in ...

, and the second to the Kyoto Protocol. He has been scientific director of the European Space Research Organisation (now known as European Space Agency). He received many awards and honors for his work in

climate research Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "place, zone"; and , '' -logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. This modern field of stu ...

, including the International Meteorological Organization Prize (1981), Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal (1984), the

Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement is an annual award for environmental science, environmental health, and energy. Tyler Laureates receive a $200,000 cash prize and a medallion. The prize is administered by the University of Southern Cal ...

(1988), the highest atmospheric science award of the

American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is the premier scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its mission is to advance th ...

, Körber European Science Prize (1990), the Milutin Milankovic Medal in 1993, and the Blue Planet Prize (1995), often considered as the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

for environmental sciences. He also jointly received the

Global Environment Facility The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral environmental fund that provides grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants (PO ...

's 1999 Global Environment Leadership Award. Bolin was a member of the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

(from 1975) and Russian Academies of Sciences. In November 2007, shortly before his death, Bolin published the partly autobiographical ''A History of the Science and Politics of Climate Change: The Role of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change''. The Bolin Centre for Climate Research at Stockholm University was named in his memory in 2008.

References

External links

The Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolin, Bert 1925 births 2007 deaths Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal recipients Stockholm University alumni Deaths from stomach cancer Swedish meteorologists Deaths from cancer in Sweden Stockholm University faculty Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences