Thomas Stocker on research project

About Thomas Stocker

Thomas Stocker, a climate scientist and former co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group I, received the 2024 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Climate Change, sharing it with four colleagues in polar ice core research. In his acceptance speech, Stocker described his contributions to two scientific achievements: measuring greenhouse gas concentrations from the EPICA Dome C ice core covering the past 800,000 years, which he said affirmed that today's CO2 concentration is over 50% higher than before the burning of fossil fuels; and formulating the thermal bipolar seesaw mechanism, which he explained describes how abrupt climate swings in the North Atlantic are transmitted to the Southern Ocean. He also noted his involvement in the Beyond EPICA project, which seeks to access ice that is 1.5 million years old. In interviews and public appearances, Stocker has stated that carbon dioxide concentrations today are 35% higher than at any point in the past 800,000 years and that warming is unprecedented in at least the last 2,000 years. He has said that polar ice cores reveal instabilities in the climate system that could lead to abrupt changes in the future due to human-caused perturbations. Stocker has called for urgent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to keep global mean warming well below 2 degrees Celsius, as outlined in the Paris Agreement, and has described the transition away from fossil fuels as a necessary "fourth industrial revolution." He has also spoken about his work as a coach and trainer in NLP and business consulting, having been self-employed in that field since the early 2000s.

Profile compiled from Thomas Stocker's verified public interviews and appearances. See all quotes & transcripts →