Rt Hon Chris Skidmore OBE

Founding Advisor

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London, UK

Biography

Chris was the UK Energy Minister attending Cabinet responsible for signing the UK’s
net zero commitment into law— becoming the first G7 country to do so. He also
helped secure the UK’s Presidency of COP26. In 2022, Chris was appointed by the
UK Government to chair the Net Zero Review, publishing the widely-acclaimed
Mission Zero report in January 2023, which was described by Lord Nicholas Stern as
‘a remarkable and important piece of work’ (Mission Zero | Biteback Publishing). The
Net Zero Review was the largest engagement exercise on net zero in the UK,
engaging with over 2,800 businesses. For his work, in 2023, Chris was awarded
Politician of the Year at the UK Green Business Awards, and Political Figure of the
Year at the British Renewable Energy Awards 2023.


Chris was Member of Parliament for Kingswood between 2010-2024, during which
time he also served as Minister for the Constitution, Minister for Universities,
Science, Research and Innovation and Minister for Health. He also was Chair of the
All Party Group on the Environment. He resigned from Parliament in January 2024 in
protest at new legislation promoting additional oil and gas licences.


Between 2021-2023 Chris was a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and
in 2023-24 a Visting Fellow at Oxford University. He is currently a Professor at Bath
University.


Chris is currently Chair of the Climate Action Coalition, launched by Secretary John
Kerry in June 2024, and a founding partner of Desmos Capital Partners, an advisory
investment bank that supports new technologies and sustainable businesses. He is
also Chief Operating Officer of Better Earth, and a founding advisor of Smart Society
Ventures.

Why Decarbonization:

Climate tech is both the Industrial Revolution and the economic opportunity of the 21st century, combined.

Fun Facts:

He once presented a Tudor documentary on Channel 5 based on his book Death and the Virgin (He's got a bit of an alter ego as a Tudor and Medieval historian!)