I don’t have much time left, and I have been reconciled to my early departure from the moment I received the news. There are many worse things than death. But to repeat, I urge people of goodwill on all sides to pursue the art of the possible rather than turn climate into a culture war issue. It is simply too important for that.
- Pete Betts, The Climate Diplomat
Sometimes there are special projects that come into our life – and with them, remarkable people. Two years ago, just as I was starting to test the waters of freelance writing and editing, I was put in touch with Pete Betts, the UK and EU’s former lead climate negotiator. Pete needed an editor, someone to help him with the book he had been writing since his diagnosis with an aggressive brain tumor several months prior. Over the course of one summer, we sat together – in his garden in Clapham and holiday cottage in St Ives, and discussed the details of his unlikely life.
We talked about what his work, particularly as a key negotiator of the Paris Climate Agreement, had involved, and his thoughts on how politics might respond to the enormous challenges global warming will present it with over the coming decades. He was astonishingly sharp during these meetings, even as his health declined. Over the course of six months we did an enormous amount of work together envisioning and writing a book that I suggested could be called The Climate Diplomat.
Pete died of brain cancer in October 2023. In January 2024, I began to work on the book again, this time with Pete’s wife – Fiona MacGregor. Fiona’s steadfast commitment to making sure Pete’s book was completed has been nothing short of incredible. Together, we navigated the manuscript Pete had written, and slowly began the work of piecing it together. What emerged was a remarkable story of how Pete, born into a working class family, rose to the highest levels of the British civil service and came to play an instrumental role as a negotiator during a crucial period of our planet’s history. At Pete’s funeral, Lord Deben, the former Chair of the UK’s Climate Change Committee, said that ‘We owe to him, in my view, the Paris Agreement’.
Collectively, we owe a great debt to Pete. It is not an understatement to say that without him, our world would be in an even graver situation than it already is. On a personal level, I feel profoundly grateful to have spent just a fraction of his earthly time in his company.
THE CLIMATE DIPLOMAT: A Personal History of COP Conferences will be published by Profile Books on August 28. You can pre-order copies via the usual places, including Waterstones and Bookshop.org (affiliate link here).
P.S. If you are a journalist or reviewer interested in covering Pete’s book, please get in touch!
If you would like to read more about my experience of working with Pete, click on the link below:
‘Pete was dying when we met. He had been diagnosed with a brain tumour which was severely impacting his health… He would send me emails at all hours of the day, explaining his views on a wide range of issues, from carbon credits to the efficacy of Just Stop Oil as their actions hit the headlines. The book seemed to sustain and fuel Pete’s mind, spurring him on as he and Fiona navigated the numerous health challenges that were affecting his body.’
I’ve never preordered a book before, but feel I could not have done that more quickly. Cannot wait to read.
What an amazing project to work on – and in beautiful circumstances. I'll echo Katie's comment about being immediately compelled to read it. So glad you and Fiona were able to complete Pete's work and get it into the world.