Sir Alok Sharma has been awarded the prestigious Fellowship of the Science Museum Group, in recognition of his exceptional leadership as the President of COP26 in drawing attention to the urgent need to transition to a net-zero world. Sir Alok will join an illustrious group of Fellows who have made major contributions through academic research, design, technology, and philanthropy.
The award was presented by the Science Museum Group’s Chair, Dame Mary Archer, at its Annual Dinner held at the Science Museum in London.
Elected as an MP in 2010, Sir Alok Sharma has served in a range of ministerial positions and was appointed President Designate of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in 2020, alongside his role as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. In 2021, he took on the COP26 role full-time, leading the UK’s work in bringing together the world to tackle climate change and getting almost 200 countries to sign-up to the historic Glasgow Climate Pact. Alok was knighted in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to tackling climate change.
In September 2022, Sir Alok addressed a cohort of 50 experts including policymakers, scientists and business leaders for an event jointly hosted by the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum, at which he called for accelerated action to curb climate change and address ecosystem destruction.
Dame Mary Archer said:
“Climate change is the most urgent challenge facing our planet and engaging our millions of visitors with the science of climate change is a pillar of our work at the Science Museum Group. We’ve had the honour of experiencing first-hand the passion and leadership Sir Alok Sharma brought to his role as President of COP26 and it gives me great pleasure to confer upon him this Fellowship in recognition of the vital work he progressed in leading us towards a low carbon future.”
On receiving the Fellowship Alok Sharma said:
“I am honoured and humbled to be awarded this Fellowship and I want to thank the whole UK Government team which worked tirelessly over several years to deliver the Glasgow Climate Pact. The commitments made by countries at COP26 allowed us to say with credibility that we had kept alive the prospect of limiting average global warming to 1.5 degrees. However, as the World Meteorological Organisation report this week makes clear, the world is likely to breach the 1.5C climate threshold by 2027 and that is why world leaders must inject urgency in delivering on their climate commitments.”
Recent recipients of the Fellowship of the Science Museum Group include Professor Lord Stern – the academic, banker and economist – in recognition of his exceptional leadership of the science of climate change through his chairmanship of the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and Environment, and the late Dame Deborah James – the podcaster, campaigner and fundraiser – in recognition of all the cancer-related work she undertook following her diagnosis with stage 4 bowel cancer in 2016. Further information about Science Museum Group Fellows can be found here.