Tim Flannery

Timothy Fridtjof Flannery is an Australian mammalogist, paleontologist, environmentalist, conservationist, explorer, author, science communicator, activist, and public scientist. He was awarded Australian of the Year in 2007 for his work and advocacy on environmental issues.

Flannery grew up in Sandringham and studied English at La Trobe University in 1977. He then switched disciplines to pursue paleontology. As a researcher, Flannery had roles at several universities and museums in Australia, specializing in fossil marsupials and mammal evolution.

He made notable contributions to the paleontology of Australia and New Guinea during the 1980s, including reviewing the evolution and fossil records of Phalangeridae and Macropodidae. In addition, while a mammal curator at the Australian Museum, he surveyed Melanesia's mammals, where he identified 17 previously undescribed species, including several tree kangaroos.

In 1994, Flannery published his first popular science book, The Future Eaters, on the natural history of Australasia. It became a bestseller and was adapted for television. He has since written more than 27 books on natural history and environmental topics, including Throwim Way Leg and Chasing Kangaroos, and has appeared on television and in the media.

After becoming increasingly concerned about climate change, Flannery later became prominent for his role in communication, research, and advocacy around the issue, particularly in his native Australia. He spent five years writing The Weather Makers (2005) on the topic. In 2011, he was appointed the Chief Commissioner of the Climate Commission, a federal government body providing information on climate change to the Australian public, until its abolition by the Abbott government in 2013.

Flannery and other sacked commissioners later formed the independent Climate Council, which continues to communicate independent climate science to the Australian public.

Flannery's work in raising the profile of environmental issues was key to his being named Australian of the Year in 2007. Awarding the prize, former Prime Minister John Howard said that the scientist "has encouraged Australians into new ways of thinking about our environmental history and future ecological challenges." That said, Howard—a climate skeptic at the time—was unconvinced about some of Flannery's views.