Notable British ocean scientists and leaders in marine conservation and climate change discovery have been recognised in King Charles III’s New Years Honours list, a celebration of the individual achievements and contributions made to British society.

Answering the question, what do Stephen Fry, Gareth Southgate and the associate head of the Marine Physics and Ocean Climate group at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) have in common, the 2025 New Year Honours list has been released to award all those who have made such outstanding contributions to their fields of expertise over the course of their careers.

Among them, Helen Rachel Mary Backshall has been awarded an MBE for her services to Rowing; the NOC’s Dr Elizabeth Kent has been awarded for her services to tracking global temperatures; and marine biologist Emily Cunningham has been recognised with an MBE for her services to marine conservation and coastal communities.

For more than three decades, Dr Kent has performed research that underpins the development of long-term global surface temperature records, helping to make them more accurate and consistent – crucial to the ability of the international science community to detect and describe human-induced climate change.

It’s this research – and the data built upon it – which underpin current climate assessments, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Reports, used by policymakers, campaigners, and researchers across the globe.

Dr Kent is part of a team at the NOC working on historical marine surface observations. She has spent years studying the details of the observations with insight that has revealed the true variations in marine surface temperature. Dr Kent has spent a career meticulously examining the origin and uncertainty of every measurement of sea surface and air temperature from commercial, naval, and research ships since the 19th century.

It’s according to colleagues at the NOC that Dr Kent’s expertise in this area helps ensure that hundreds of years of historical temperature data are continually improved and better understood. 

“I am honoured that my contribution to improving historical marine data has been recognised in this way,” she said. “This wouldn’t have been possible without the long-term support that the National Oceanography Centre provides for this work.”

Meanwhile, Ms Cunningham – a marine biologist now one decade into her “dream career” has said she is “truly honoured” to be recognised with an MBE for her services to marine conservation and coastal communities. 

In a short space of time, Cunningham has achieved much, having worked on conservation projects in the UK and overseas, including in Antarctica and the Amazon, and has secured more than £5m in funding for various initiatives. 

“Saving the ocean is all I’ve ever wanted to do,” she said. 

In recent years she – alongside Dr Pamela Buchan (a former Plymouth City Councillor) and Nicola Bridge (from the Ocean Conservation Trust) co-founded Motion for the Ocean, the world’s first ocean recovery declaration for local government, calling on councils to declare an urgent need to protect the ocean as part of the climate emergency. It’s a model that has since been adopted by 33 local authorities.

She has also served as a trustee of the Marine Conservation Society and was named among the 30 under 30 global environment leaders by the North American Association for Environmental Education in 2020.

“Marine conservation is more than just my job, it has been my life, passion, and mission for more than 20 years,” she continued. “It can be a tough and thankless task given the scale of the challenges facing our ocean, so to be recognised in this way means the world.”

Cunningham is now currently co-ordinating research on marine and freshwater dolphins, as well as writing her first book.

“Most little girls outgrow their dreams of becoming a marine biologist and plenty of people told me it wasn’t a realistic aspiration for a state-schooled, working class girl from Staffordshire,” she said. “But I’m so glad I chased my dreams. Not many people find their calling, and I’m incredibly grateful that I’m getting to live mine.”

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