Institutionalising climate prediction in the UK, 1988-1992

A woman in a suit standing at a podium, discussing climate prediction in the UK.

Mahony,M. and Hulme,M. (2016)  Modelling and the nation: Institutionalising climate prediction in the UK, 1988-1992  Minerva  54(4), 445-470  doi:10.1007/s11024-016-9302-0

Using newthatcher-at-the-hadleyly released archival materials and recently conducted interviews with key actors, we reconstruct negotiations between UK climate scientists and policymakers which led to the opening of the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research in 1990.  We historicize earlier arguments about the unique institutional culture of the Hadley Centre, and link this culture to broader characteristics of UK regulatory practice and environmental politics.