Minister Creecy expresses condolences at the death of Prof Bob Scholes
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has expressed her sadness at the death of Prof Bob Scholes.
“The contribution made by Prof Bob Scholes to the work of the Department in both the climate change and biodiversity fields was immeasurable. His untimely death is a shock to us all,” said the Minister.
Prof Scholes, an acclaimed scientist and world leader in the field of climate change, led the Department’s development of its State of the Environment reports and was a regular leader in the development of policy related to the proper use of the country’s natural capital.
He was a lead author of chapters on adaptation to climate change, and terrestrial and inland water systems for the 3rd, 4th and 5th assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The Department had nominated Prof Scholes to serve in the IPCC sixth assessment report (AR6).
He co-led the working group of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and co-chaired the global assessment of land degradation.
Prof Scholes was a champion for green energy and increasing the efficiency of carbon-based energy as a means of reducing the country’s carbon footprint. While at the CSIR, he co-drafted the South African government’s first greenhouse gas inventory in 1995, two years ahead of South Africa’s ratification of the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change. The inventory is submitted to the UNFCCC every two years.
He previously served on the boards of the World Agroforestry Centre, South African Parks, and the South African National Space Agency
Working in the field of Systems Ecology, he was also a strong believer in taking global action and implementing it locally, particularly in regards to global biodiversity loss.
“Prof Scholes’ forward-thinking belief that technical solutions exist to overcome the ecological and environmental challenges we presently face will be honoured as we work towards the growth of the Circular Economy, a reduction in consumption and waste to landfill as we build a sustainable future for South Africa,” said Minister Creecy.
The Department extends its condolences to Prof Scholes’s wife, Prof Mary Scholes, his family and colleagues.
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