Liz Bentley: three years of leadership, connection and ambition for EMS

As Liz Bentley approaches the end of her three-year term as President of the European Meteorological Society, EMS has an opportunity to reflect on a presidency that has combined continuity with change, strengthened links across the European meteorological community and positioned the Society well for its next phase of development.

Over the course of Liz’s presidency, EMS has travelled from Bratislava to Reading, Barcelona to Paris, Ljubljana to Ingolstadt, and finally to Utrecht – a journey across seven European cities, but always with the same purpose: bringing our community together and moving the Society forward.

Liz became President in autumn 2023, becoming the first woman to serve in the role. That was an important milestone in the history of EMS, but her presidency has been defined above all by what she has done with the opportunity: the energy she has brought to the Society, the relationships she has strengthened and the direction she has helped establish.

Throughout her term, Liz has consistently championed EMS as a connected European community. The Society brings together national meteorological societies, researchers, practitioners and professionals from across Europe, spanning different disciplines, institutions and generations. Liz has encouraged that community to share knowledge more widely, raise the profile of meteorology and climate science, and ensure that EMS continues to respond to the changing needs of both its members and wider society.

Her presidency has coincided with a period of significant development.

One of the most visible changes has been the establishment of the Journal of the European Meteorological Society (JEMS). The new open-access journal provides a dedicated platform through which the breadth of European meteorology can be represented and creates new opportunities for researchers and practitioners to exchange knowledge across disciplinary and national boundaries.

The EMS webinar programme has also helped extend the life of the Society beyond the Annual Meeting. By bringing discussions, knowledge exchange and professional engagement into the rest of the year, the programme has enabled a wider community to take part in EMS activities and strengthened connections among Member Societies.

Liz’s presidency also encompassed the 25th anniversary of EMS. The anniversary provided an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the Society since its creation, but also to look ahead. Discussions involving past and present leaders, Member Societies and newer members of the community considered how European cooperation can continue to evolve and what EMS should seek to become during its next quarter-century.

At the same time, Liz has encouraged EMS to engage confidently with emerging challenges. At EMS2025 in Ljubljana she helped frame discussion around the transformative potential of artificial intelligence for forecasting, research, services, professional roles and communication. Her approach has been to create space for the community to explore both opportunities and risks, and to consider how meteorologists can contribute to the responsible development and application of new technologies.

Strengthening EMS’s global connections

Although EMS is fundamentally a European organisation, Liz has also placed considerable emphasis on its role within the wider international meteorological community.

Her presidency began with the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding with the American Meteorological Society, and has also seen EMS develop new agreements with the Korean Meteorological Society and the Chinese Meteorological Society.

These partnerships extend opportunities for the exchange of knowledge, professional experience and participation beyond the European membership. They also reinforce the role of EMS as part of a wider international network of organisations working to advance meteorology and its contribution to society.

Turning climate knowledge into organisational action

One of the most significant features of Liz’s presidency has been her determination that EMS should translate its understanding of climate change into action within the Society itself.

Liz drove the development of the commitment for EMS to reach net zero by 2040, supported by intermediate targets of a 33 per cent reduction by 2030 and a 66 per cent reduction by 2035, annual emissions reporting and a defined transition plan.

Importantly, the commitment goes beyond a statement of ambition. Sustainability is being incorporated into decisions concerning meetings, travel, procurement, publishing, suppliers, finance and governance.

For a meteorological society, this has particular significance. The EMS community helps provide the scientific evidence through which climate change is observed, understood and communicated. The net-zero commitment challenges the Society to ensure that its own activities reflect that evidence, while recognising the difficult balance between sustaining an international scientific community and reducing the environmental impact associated with bringing people together.

The result is a practical and evidence-based approach: improving measurement and transparency, encouraging more sustainable travel and meeting choices, working with venues and suppliers and making sustainability part of long-term strategy. It is likely to remain an important legacy of Liz’s presidency.

Leadership built around people

Alongside the visible achievements of her presidency has been the quieter work of leadership: building agreement, listening to different perspectives, making connections and creating the conditions in which others can contribute. Colleagues have experienced a style that combines authority without unnecessary formality, ambition grounded in practicality, and considerable energy with warmth and good humour. Liz’s instinct has consistently been to involve others and turn shared ideas into action.

She has represented EMS with authority, enthusiasm and warmth, welcomed people into the community and encouraged contributions from a broad range of perspectives. She has also placed particular emphasis on those earlier in their careers and on ensuring that the future of meteorology is seen not only in terms of scientific and technological development, but also in supporting the people who will carry the profession forward.

That approach has been particularly important in an organisation as diverse as EMS. Europe’s meteorological societies differ in size, history, resources and national context. Rather than seeking uniformity, Liz has emphasised the value of that diversity: identifying shared interests, enabling societies to learn from one another and strengthening the collective voice of the European meteorological community.

A presidency with a lasting legacy

Presidents serve for a defined period, but their influence continues through the relationships they have built, the priorities they have established and the confidence they have given others to continue the work.

Across these different areas, Liz has helped EMS become more connected, more visible, more outward-looking and more conscious of its responsibilities. Her presidency has not only responded to the immediate agenda, but has helped prepare the Society for the scientific, technological and societal changes that lie ahead.

As Liz completes her term, EMS has an important new journal, stronger year-round engagement, renewed appreciation of its history, increased engagement with technological change, strengthened international partnerships and a clear commitment to becoming a more sustainable organisation.

Above all, her presidency has reinforced what EMS can achieve when its Member Societies work together.

The EMS community offers its warm thanks to Professor Liz Bentley for her leadership, vision, energy and commitment over the past three years, and looks forward to her continuing contribution to European and international meteorology in the years ahead.