John’s Lecture Topics :

• The Pacific – An Ocean of Islands
• Land Tenure in the Pacific
• Bountiful Pacific – Fisheries and Deep Sea Mining
• Addressing the ‘Climate Crisis’ – Much Talk; Little Action

John boasts a career spanning over forty years in academia, the private sector, and governmental organizations. His work has been characterized by an interdisciplinary approach to environmental sciences, as well as technical and policy-relevant assessments and guidance. This approach is particularly evident in his work related to the Pacific islands region, Antarctica, and climate variability and change.

As a Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), John was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which was jointly awarded to the IPCC and Al Gore. John has also been honored with a prestigious fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation.

In 2007, John co-authored the book "Tourism and Climate Change: Risks and Opportunities". The follow-up, "Climate Change, and Tourism: From Policy to Practice", was released in June 2012. John recently published two books withElsevier and the Royal Meteorological Society – "Science of Weather, Climate and Ocean Extremes", and "Managing the Consequences of Weather, Climate and Oceanic Extremes in Our Warming World".

John holds the position of Adjunct Professor at Auckland University in New Zealand, Griffith University in Australia, and the University of the South Pacific, a regional university. He serves as a consultant and advisor to numerous national governments and regional and international organizations. These include the United Nations, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, the governments of New Zealand and Australia, and Live and Learn International.