Myles Allen's research quantifies how human and natural drivers affect observed climate change and the risks of extreme weather. Known as 'the physicist behind net zero', he identified the cumulative impact of carbon dioxide on global climate, leading to the notion of a finite carbon budget. He has been arguing ever since that the fastest way to stop fossil fuels from causing global warming is for the fossil fuel industry itself to be held responsible for permanent disposal of all the carbon dioxide generated by their activities and products.
Allen founded climateprediction.net, using distributed computing to run the world’s then-largest ensemble climate modelling experiments, and introduced the concept of event attribution, using probabilities to quantify the role of climate change in extreme weather.
Allen served extensively on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, most recently as a Coordinating Lead Author on the 2018 Special Report on 1.5°C. In 2010, he was awarded the Appleton Medal from the Institute of Physics and, in 2022, a CBE 'for services to climate change attribution, prediction and net zero'.
Professional position
- Professor of Geosystem Science, Department of Physics, University of Oxford
- Professor of Geosystem Science, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford
