Professor Saleemul Huq has been recognised by Nature on its list of 10 people who helped shape science in 2022. Huq, who is Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) and Professor at the Independent University, Bangladesh, also heads ecbi’s Training and Support Programme (TSP). Lauded by Nature as a “climate revolutionary”, Huq is a familiar fixture at the climate negotiations, helping climate vulnerable countries advance their priorities in the negotiations. He was instrumental in getting countries at COP 27 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, to agree to establish a fund to help lower-income countries address loss and damage due to the adverse impacts of climate change. The decision was agreed against long odds and is being hailed as “historic”.

Nature also describes how Huq helped advance the concept of community-based adaptation, where rural communities “find their own research-based solutions to problems, such as improving flood defences or adjusting cropping patterns in response to climate change”.

Nature’s annual 10 list identifies individuals who help bring attention to crucial issues and contribute to significant discoveries.

Photo by IISD/ENB Mike Muzurakis