Professor Bob Watson has been the Chief Scientific Officer for Defra since 2007, and is also Professor of Environmental Sciences and the Director of Strategic Development at the University of East Anglia. Prior to taking up his post at Defra, Bob Watson was the Chief Scientist and Senior Advisor for Sustainable Development for the World Bank. He has also held senior positions at NASA and the White House, and was a chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 1997 to 2002. He has played a key role in the negotiation of global environment conventions and the evolution of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Bob was also Director and Co-chair of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development, and has served on the Board of Directors of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment as well as the International Scientific Assessment of Stratospheric Ozone. Professor Watson received his PhD in Chemistry from the London University in 1973. He has since received many national and international awards and prizes for his contributions to science, including the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility in 1993 and the insignia of Honorary Companion of St. Michael and St. George from the British Government in 2003.