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 atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...

who served as the first chairman of 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 "provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies". The World Met ...

(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 Nyköping () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden, with 32,759 inhabitants as of 2017. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County. Including Arnö, the locality on the ...

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

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

in 1946. He earned a master's degree in 1949 and a doctorate in 1956, both in meteorology, at

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

. During his doctorate he spent a year in 1950 at the

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

in Princeton, New Jersey, where he worked with

Jule Charney Jule Gregory Charney (January 1, 1917 – June 16, 1981) was an American meteorologist who played an important role in developing numerical weather prediction and increasing understanding of the general circulation of the atmosphere by devisin ...

John von Neumann John von Neumann ( ; ; December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian and American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist and engineer. Von Neumann had perhaps the widest coverage of any mathematician of his time, in ...

and others on the first computerized weather forecast, using

ENIAC ENIAC (; Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first Computer programming, programmable, Electronics, electronic, general-purpose digital computer, completed in 1945. Other computers had some of these features, but ENIAC was ...

, 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 Österskär is eastern part of Åkersberga, Österåker Municipality in Sweden. It hosts the terminal station of the Stockholm suburban railway Roslagsbanan. The area is located in a hilly peninsula between Tunaviken and Sätterfjärden northwes ...

, northeast of

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

where he also died aged 82. He remained active until shortly before his death.

Career and awards

Bolin was professor of meteorology at

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 an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

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 Inte ...

in 1980. Bolin served on the

Advisory Group on Greenhouse Gases Advisory may refer to: * Advisory board, a body that provides advice to the management of a corporation, organization, or foundation * Boil-water advisory, a public health directive given by government to consumers when a community's drinking wate ...

from 1985. In 1987, the 500-page

Brundtland Report __NOTOC__ ''Our Common Future'', also known as the Brundtland Report, was published in October 1987 by the United Nations through the Oxford University Press. This publication was in recognition of Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Norwegian Prime Mi ...

which Bolin was involved with contributed to the setting up of the

(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 (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

with former US vice president

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

. 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) is the UN process for negotiating an agreement to limit dangerous climate change. It is an international treaty among countries to combat "dangerous human interference with th ...

, and the second to the

Kyoto Protocol The was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that global warming is oc ...

. He has been scientific director of the European Space Research Organisation (now known as

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

). He was co-founder of

Stockholm Environment Institute Stockholm Environment Institute, or SEI, is a non-profit, independent research and policy institute specialising in sustainable development and environmental issues, with seven affiliate offices around the world. SEI works on climate change, en ...

in 1988 and chairman of its board in the 1990s as well as special advisor on climate and energy. He received many awards and honors for his work in

climate research Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "slope"; 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. Climate concerns the atmospheric ...

, including the

International Meteorological Organization Prize The International Meteorological Organization Prize is awarded annually by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for outstanding contributions in the field of meteorology and, since 1971, the field of operational hydrology. The prize, esta ...

(1981),

Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal The Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal is the highest award for atmospheric science of the American Meteorological Society. It is presented to individual scientists, who receive a medal. Named in honor of meteorology and oceanography pioneer Carl- ...

(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 $250,000 cash prize and a medallion. The prize is administered by the University of Southern Ca ...

(1988), the highest atmospheric science award of the

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

Körber European Science Prize The Körber European Science Prize is a science and technology award, presented annually by the Körber Foundation in Hamburg, honoring outstanding scientists working in Europe for their promising research projects. The prize is endowed with 1 mil ...

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

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

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 (P ...

'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 (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

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 in Sweden Swedish meteorologists Academic staff of Stockholm University 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 People from Nyköping