Trustees report and financial statements 2020

STRATEGIC REPORT GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OTHER INFORMATION THE ROYAL SOCIETY TRUSTEES’ REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 32 SCIENCE SHAPING THE WORLD WE LIVE IN 33 As global temperatures increase, the impacts of climate change on people and the environment are becoming more severe and adaptation is becoming harder, costlier and, in some cases, impossible. Science is central to understanding the damage that is being done and to helping us to find ways to reduce harm and adapt our lifestyles. The Royal Society is at the forefront of this work. We fund researchers working on cultivating climate resilient crops to increase food security, engineering infrastructure that is designed to withstand the growing risk of natural disasters, and integrating low-tech renewable energy solutions within communities. In 2019, we launched a series of five events across the UK to connect experts with the public to explore some of the key issues. You and the planet looked at issues such as how we tackle climate change, how energy use affects the planet, how our diets can make a difference and how we can nurture nature. Regrettably, a further event, a family festival at the Natural History Museum, had to be cancelled because of the pandemic. Climate and biodiversity In November 2019, the Society published climate briefings based on the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). These looked at the links between land and climate change and the impact of warming temperatures on the ocean and cryosphere. The briefings identify steps that UK policy makers can take, domestically and internationally, to address risks and opportunities. The Society also published reports on microplastics, soil structure and green ammonia. In June 2019, the UK government committed to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Society’s influence can be seen in the report produced by the Committee on Climate Change that led to that decision, which heavily cited the Greenhouse gas removal report that was published jointly by the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2018. Stormy weather – from lore to science is an exhibition which opened at the Royal Society in February 2020. It showcases instruments, books and manuscripts from the National Meteorological Library and Archive collections alongside items from the Royal Society that tell of the evolution of weather and climate science in the UK. Strategy in action continued Professor Daniela Schmidt Professor Daniela Schmidt studies the impacts of global warming and ocean acidification on marine ecosystems. Human-driven emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere affect the oceans through acidification or warming and deoxygenation. Ecosystem shifts can create significant sustainability and management challenges, particularly among countries with a strong dependence on the sea. She is a Wolfson Research Merit Award holder at the University of Bristol and was previously a Royal Society University Research Fellow. Professor Polly Arnold Professor Polly Arnold is a synthetic molecular chemist who is using carbon dioxide – one of our biggest problems in terms of environmental damage – to build renewable materials. She describes her work as ‘making weird molecules that the textbooks say should not exist’. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society, is based at the University of California, Berkeley and was previously based at the University of Edinburgh, where her laboratory had been funded by a Royal Society Wolfson Laboratory Refurbishment grant. Professor Clare Grey Developing new battery technologies is crucial to the ever-growing use of renewable energy and the decarbonisation of transport. Professor Clare Grey is working to develop these technologies by looking at materials to make batteries that can charge and discharge faster and that could store much more power than the batteries currently available. She is a Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of the Royal Society.