Chris Turney

Biography

Chris is a climate scientist and entrepreneur who has spent his career chasing big questions — from the ice sheets of Antarctica to the boardrooms of the UK, Australia and New Zealand. He now leads research strategy at Heriot-Watt, turning scientific discovery into solutions the world urgently needs.

His research investigates abrupt climate change, extreme weather and humanity's footprint on the planet, including the landmark work proposing 1965 as the start of the Anthropocene. He co-founded CarbonScape, which turns forestry residues into biographite – a carbon-negative alternative to the graphite used in lithium-ion batteries.

Called the "new David Livingstone" by The Saturday Times and compared to Malcolm Gladwell by Publishers Weekly, Chris is committed to bringing research to wider audiences. He contributes to The New York Times, The Guardian, CNN and the BBC, and recently hosted the Imagine Entertainment podcast Unf*cking the Future on climate solutions.