Rupert Read (born 1966) is an environmental philosopher, public intellectual, and the founder and current director of the Climate Majority Project.[1].

[2] Until 2023, Read was a reader in philosophy at the University of East Anglia[3] where he was awarded – as Principal Investigator – Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funding for two projects on "natural capital".

[6] In further work, Read has theorised the utility of the precautionary principle in a wide range of areas, including: climate change, the environment, as well as financial and technology sectors.

Read's application of the precautionary principle in climate and environmental affairs underlies many of his talks and presentations, notably including "Shed a Light – This civilisation is finished: so what is to be done?"

[9] This led to new policy that meant the BBC would no longer present climate change deniers' views as a counterbalance to scientific standpoints.

Read was part of the five members of the group invited to meet with Environment Secretary Michael Gove to discuss their demands.

[17] In his regular appearances in the local and national press, he speaks on sustainable transport, green economics, and social justice.

Read left UEA in the Summer of 2023, citing his dissatisfaction with current academia's failure to adequately confront the climate crisis, as well as its tendency to over-appreciate the sciences and under-appreciate the arts and humanities, coupled with the opportunity for Read to spend his time building the Climate Majority Project which he believes is a more vital use of his time.

[40] A month later, Read took part in a sit-in to disrupt the consultation stage of a link between two major A-roads across ecologically significant Wensum Valley in Norfolk.

[46] On television, Read appeared on Channel 5's 5 News[47] in a performance described by Naomi Klein as "absolutely amazing",[48] and BBC Politics Live where he notably successfully put pressure on Labour MP Jenny Chapman and Conservative minister Nadhim Zahawi to agree, live on TV, to meet Extinction Rebellion, and additionally demanded that politicians stop spreading the myth – and misleading statistics – that the UK is a leader on climate change action.

[50] Through the work of their protests, Extinction Rebellion were invited to talk to the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.

[51] Additionally, Read was personally involved in meeting Environment Secretary Michael Gove at DEFRA where he put forward Extinction Rebellion's demands and concerns directly to the government.

[16] In 2020, Read orchestrated the leak of the JP Morgan report saying Earth is on unsustainable trajectory, in which the major fossil fuel financier warned its clients of the economic risks of man-made global warming.

In Read's own words, "The Climate Majority Project is for anyone and everyone who is serious about taking action on this existential threat that now faces us, but doesn't want to glue themselves to anything.

[62] Read has developed, on the basis of his research in political and environmental philosophy, a radical proposal for institutional reform, to provide a place in the UK's democratic system for a voice for future people.