The Climate Scientist Who Became a Politician

Last week, I wrote about the hundreds of American scientists who are thinking about running for office in the wake of Donald Trump’s election and inauguration. They’re looking to address a lack of scientific representation in government, to counter misinformation about issues like climate change and vaccinations, and to stand up against potential threats to funding and communication. In the words of Frances Colón, former Deputy Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State, “many more scientists are realizing why their voices are needed.”

For Andrew Weaver, these are familiar emotions.

For most of his life, Weaver was a climate scientist. His name was on more than 200 scientific papers. He edited one of the top climatology journals for five years. He was a lead author on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th scientific assessments from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—the reports that have repeatedly updated the world on the impacts of climate change.

But in 2013, he abandoned academia to , as part of the Green Party of British Columbia.