Professor Benjamin Horton is leaving Nanyang Technological University (NTU) after more than four and a half years as director of Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) to join City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK), where he will set up a climate centre.
To continue reading, subscribe to Eco‑Business.
There's something for everyone. We offer a range of subscription plans.
- Access our stories and receive our Insights Weekly newsletter with the free EB Member plan.
- Unlock unlimited access to our content and archive with EB Circle.
- Publish your content with EB Premium.
Horton, whose scientific research over the last 30 years has focused on climate change and sea-level rise, has been appointed dean of CityUHK’s School of Energy and the Environment, which trains energy, environment and sustainability professionals.
The new climate centre Horton will lead will focus on developing climate solutions, he told Eco-Business.
The Briton joined EOS, which studies climate change and geohazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis in Southeast Asia, as director in 2020. He has been a professor in earth science at the Asian School of the Environment at NTU since 2017.
NTU did not confirm who would replace Horton as director of EOS.
Horton will maintain ties with Singapore as a consultant to the Centre for Climate Research Singapore, a climate science research and modelling group.
Among his most notable works during his time at EOS was a paper on the impact of sea-level rise on mangroves, salt marshes and corals, published in Nature in 2023. The paper argued for emissions cuts in line with the Paris Agreement to avoid the destruction of critical coastal habitats.
The outspoken climate scientist has repeatedly sounded the alarm on the need to transition away from fossil fuels, and he recently voiced concern over the Trump administration’s withdrawal of support for climate research in the United States.
Speaking at an event in October, Horton said that Singapore will experience at least 350 days of the year above the human survivability threshhold of 35°C if emissions continue to rise on an aggressive fossil fuel-based trajectory, referring to a study by the National Environment Agency.
“The Singaporean government – not an alarmist, angry scientist – has stated that if we don’t do anything about emissions, every day in this country will be beyond the limits of human existence,” Horton said at the Greentech Festival in Singapore.
He has also pushed for climate science to be taken more seriously, citing a paper published in December that predicted the likely end of an ocean circulation system, which could result in the Amazon rainforest drying out and coastal cities experiencing extreme flooding.
“This is information that will affect every single one of you – the air that you breathe, the water that you drink and the food that you eat – but you won’t find it anywhere on social media,” he said at the event in October.
Over his career, Horton has published over 270 articles in peer-reviewed journals. In January 2024, he co-produced Singapore’s third national climate change study (V3), which projected sea-level rise under various emissions scenarios. The research can be used to determine flooding risk to critical infrastructure and the required scope of climate adaptation measures such as Long Island, a barrier to protect Singapore’s east coast from flooding.
Horton played a key role at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow in 2021, leading a report on managing disaster risks from natural hazards in Southeast Asia. He was a review editor for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report and an author of the fifth assessment report.
Prior to joining NTU, Professor Horton was professor in marine science at Rutgers University and associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
