Rowan Douglas, Chairman of the Willis Research Network, has been appointed to the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) by UK Science Minister Ian Pearson.

The appointment of Mr Douglas, who will join the Council as a commercial member, underscores the growing relationship between the finance sector and the scientific community on the issue of global climate change. 

With an annual budget of around £400 million, NERC is the largest funder of world-class environmental science research in UK universities and its own research centres. Its strategic goal is to deliver world-leading environmental research at the frontiers of knowledge, enabling society to respond to global climate change and the increasing pressures on natural resources. It contributes to UK leadership in predicting the regional and local impacts of environmental change, and creates and supports integrated research communities.