Tim Flannery

Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (born 28 January 1956) is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist, conservationist, explorer, author, science communicator, activist and public scientist.

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, specialising in fossil marsupials and mammal evolution.

After failing to achieve the required school marks to study science, Flannery completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at La Trobe University in 1977.

He made notable contributions to the palaeontology of Australia and New Guinea during the 1980s, including reviewing the evolution and fossil records of Phalangeridae and Macropodidae.

While mammal curator at the Australian Museum, he undertook a survey of the mammals of Melanesia, where he identified 17 previously undescribed species including several tree kangaroos.

After being impressed by Flannery's knowledge of natural history, palaeontologist Tom Rich and his wife encouraged him to pursue the subject, and Flannery went on to complete a Master of Science degree in Earth Science at Monash University in 1981.

He then left Melbourne for Sydney, enjoying its subtropical climate and species diversity.

He took 15 trips in total to New Guinea (both Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya) starting in 1981 and into the 1990s, working closely with local tribes to undertake fieldwork, which he later recounted in Throwin Way Leg (1998).

A tapeworm he sent to a parasitologist following one trip was revealed to be a new species, and was later named Burtiela flanneryi after him.

Flannery has held various academic positions throughout his career.

He spent many years in Adelaide, including a spell as professor at the University of Adelaide, and 7 years as director of the South Australian Museum.

He was also principal research scientist at the Australian Museum, during which time he worked to save the bandicoot population on North Head.

In 1984, Flannery earned a PhD at the University of New South Wales in Palaeontology for his work on the evolution and fossils of macropods under palaeontologist Mike Archer.

At age 26, he was hired by the mammalogy department of the Australian Museum, and took his first trips to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and elsewhere, later becoming mammal curator at the museum.

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.

In 1999 he held the year-long visiting chair of Australian studies at Harvard University.

He spent five years writing The Weather Makers (2005) on the topic.

He was awarded Australian of the Year in 2007 for his work and advocacy on environmental issues.

He is the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Fondation Segré Distinguished Visiting Professor.

In 2007, Flannery became professor in the Climate Risk Concentration of Research Excellence at Macquarie University.

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.

An environmentalist and conservationist, Flannery is a supporter of climate change mitigation, renewable energy transition, phasing out coal power and rewilding.

Flannery was raised in a Catholic family along with his two sisters in the Melbourne suburb of Sandringham, close to Port Phillip Bay.

He described himself as a "solitary" child, spending time looking for fossils and learning to fish and scuba dive.

He said he first became aware of marine pollution and its effects on living organisms during this period.

He attended Catholic school, and later said that he did not enjoy it and became an atheist.

He was expelled in year 12 for suggesting a prominent abortion activist be invited to speak to counter the anti-abortionist views at the school, but was later allowed to return after an intervention from his father.

He left Macquarie University in mid-2013.

Flannery is also a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, and a Governor of WWF-Australia.

He was also for a time director of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy.

He has contributed to over 143 scientific papers.

Flannery is a professorial fellow at the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, University of Melbourne.

Until mid-2013 he was a professor at Macquarie University and held the Panasonic Chair in Environmental Sustainability.

Flannery rarely discusses his personal life publicly.