Mark New is Director of the African Climate and Development Initiative at the University of Cape Town, and AXA Research Chair in African Climate Risk. He is also a coordinating lead author on the IPCC 6th Assessment Report, responsible for Chapter 17 of Working Group II, Decision Making Options for Managing Risk, and an editor for Global Environmental Change and Environmental Research Letters. He serves on the Science Committees of the World Adaptation Science Programme and the South African Global Change Science Programme. His research has spanned climate change detection, attribution, impacts and adaptation. His recent research has focused on quantifying and adapting to the changing risks of damaging climate events in southern Africa, on climate adaptation knowledge systems, and on understanding barriers and enablers to effective climate adaptation responses.