Zemo Partnership's launch director Jim Skea knighted in King's Birthday Honours

Zemo Partnership EventZemo Partnership News

Sat 15 June 2024 View all news

Jim Skea, the launch director of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (which became Zemo Partnership in 2021) has been knighted in King Charles Birthday Honours List. Sir Jim, who is now Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will give the keynote closing address at the Zemo Summit on October 3rd in Westminster. 

Sir Jim Skea launched LowCVP in 2003. The Partnership celebrated its 20th anniversary with an event at London's City Hall in June 2023.

Skea is now Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He has received this prestigious recognition granted to those who have made a significant contribution to their field. 

Sir Jim Skea said: “I am humbled and honoured for this royal recognition. I receive this honour with a great sense of professional and personal pride. As the Chair of the IPCC, I am grateful for the privilege to lead and work with thousands of the world´s best scientists on delivering the most authoritative scientific reports about climate change, empowering policymakers at all levels to understand our climate system, climate change and how to tackle it. 

"The honour comes in the middle of the critical decade for climate action and is a powerful recognition for the voice of science. Climate change has confronted humanity with unprecedented challenges. But science and the IPCC’s work have shown that we have the knowledge, means and tools to address them. We have agency over our future if we choose to use it.”

Jim Skea was elected IPCC Chair for the Seventh Assessment cycle in July 2023. 

Mike Hawes, Chief Executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has been awarded an OBE in the summer honours list. 

Mike joined SMMT as chief executive in 2013, after a number of years in the automotive sector both in the UK and overseas. 

Over more than a decade, Mike has led the industry through a period of technological, structural and geopolitical change, working tirelessly to ensure the UK sector’s global competitiveness and reputation are enhanced.

Mike Hawes said: "Receiving such an award for services to the industry I love and have spent so much of my life championing is a huge honour. It is one I share with a dedicated and talented team at SMMT and a UK industry which wants to be the best. The past few years have been anything but smooth, but the UK sector has proven itself resilient, adaptable and, as ever, incredibly innovative. This recognition reinforces the importance of the industry and SMMT itself, and I would like to thank everyone with whom I have worked for their unfailing commitment and support."

Since starting his career in the road transport research sector in 1990, Mike has amassed more than three decades of experience in communications and public affairs, the majority of which has been in the motor industry. Mike joined SMMT from Bentley Motors, where he held director positions with responsibility for global communications, government affairs and corporate social responsibility. Prior to that, he held senior government and corporate affairs positions at Toyota, both in the UK and Europe.

Mike Hawes has recently been appointed as a member of the Zemo-convened Council for Net Zero Transport. He was previously on the board of LowCVP and has worked closely with the Partnership on various initiatives over many years.

Professor Sir Jim Skea will be a keynote speaker at the Zemo Partnership Summit in Westminster on October 3rd. See this link for more details.


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