Extreme E launches climate research committee

Peter Wadhams, from the institution's department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics, will lead a five-person Extreme E research team.

Over a 50-year career, he has overseen 55 Arctic expeditions and he specialises in the field of sea ice change.

Wadhams worked with Extreme E organisers last year and advised the all-electric off-road series to select Kangerlussuaq in Greenland as a race location.

Alejandro Agag, the founder and CEO of Extreme E, said: "We are truly honoured to have such a respected and knowledgeable mind advising our series.

"The Extreme E scientific committee is the vital bedrock of our series as it supports the very reason we designed this championship, to build climate awareness and accelerate the adoption of renewable energy vehicles in the fight to help lower the planet's CO2 levels.

"Professor Wadhams has been a staunch advocate in the work we are doing here, from the moment he was chosen to advise on our Greenland location selection process."

The base for the committee - which will launch an education programme and conduct research into melting ice caps, deforestation, desertification and rising sea levels - will be the oceanographic laboratory aboard the RMS St Helena.

The former Royal Mail cargo-passenger ship is undergoing a refit to lower its emissions and it will then be used to transport the championship's vehicles and freight to each location in a bid to reduce emissions.

Wadhams said: "Extreme E is a highly ambitious and exciting project which will use sport, specifically electric racing, to increase attention to remote environments on the front-line of the climate emergency and the challenges facing our planet which we simply cannot ignore.

"The climate issues Extreme E plans to highlight are all linked to the central issue of global warming and the rapid increase in CO2 levels in the atmosphere, which have reached record, devastating rates, especially over the past decade.

"With more than 30% of the planet's emissions coming from transportation, this sector is a huge contributor to atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

"It's a fact that more people watch sport than watch scientific documentaries, so I fully support Extreme E's platform of using motorsport to showcase electric vehicles and promote their adoption as an impactful solution for our planet's future health."

Each of the five consultants will advise Extreme E organisers on how to minimise the championship's impact, and to support local needs.