SIN podcast: Prof. Sir David King

The recent Arthur J. Carty lecture at the University of Waterloo featured Prof. Sir David King (Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government from 2000 to 2008 and current Director of the Smith School for Enterprise and the Environment; pictured left). Prof. King gave an unchallengeable talk on the importance of good science advice in government, and also recorded an engaging podcast for us (listen below!).

Prof. King opened his address with images of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, commenting that between 150,000 and 230,000 lives could have been saved if a tsunami warning system (as recommended by scientists) had been in place. He followed this up with a detailed commentary on science-based management of the 2001 UK foot-and-mouth outbreak, which struck within weeks of his appointment as Chief Scientific Advisor to then-Prime Minister Tony Blair.

After this rather sobering reminder of the vital role that science plays in public policy, Prof. King moved on to the future (he was responsible for setting up the renowned Foresight), to and climate change in particular. Takeaway message: Climate change is the single biggest technological challenge for wealth creation facing us since the Industrial Revolution, and there are very real limits to our emissions that we have to meet if we want to survive.

Finding a spare few minutes, I talked to Prof. King about the lecture’s major themes, his time in government and his new role at the University of Oxford. The interview is split into four parts of 3-5 minutes each, and you can listen to them below: