Sadly I was unable to attend last week's official launch of Defra's new national research centre for food and the environment. The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) was officially launched at the main laboratories near York, by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Hilary Benn MP.
David Atkins, who attended on my behalf, tells me that both the Minister and Professor Bob Watson, Defra's Chief Scientific Advisor, spoke compellingly of the huge challenges of food security and climate change that we all face. A new report published recently predicts that by 2080, London will be between 2°C and 6°C hotter than it is now and this will bring greater extremes of flood and drought. They also praised the expertise of Fera scientists who can help address some of these challenges.
I have much respect for the scientific expertise of Fera colleagues, and I wish this new Agency well and look forward to strengthening the relationships we had with them as the former Central Science Laboratory.