John Harvey Chesshire: born June 2nd, 1947; died September 10th, 2009:THE DEATH of John Chesshire at the age of 62 from cancer deprives the British environmental movement of one of its most influential minds, bundled into one of the most engaging yet modest of personalities.
Forty years ago, when I met the 6ft 4in John at Durham University, he was busy collecting pub names, sorting out the finances of the student union and studying economics, the field in which he later became renowned. He moved to Sussex University for his MA, then to London to the Trades Union Congress economics department, where he began to show a flair for influencing government.
He returned to Sussex, where his partnership with John Surrey in energy economics helped to establish the science policy research unit as an international centre for research. He published extensively and was in great demand as an adviser in the UK (notably on the government's energy policy advisory board), at the OECD and to a number of European governments.
A major role came as an adviser to various House of Commons select committees, over 22 years, where his hand in drafting reports contributed to the government's acceptance of the need for energy saving, and he was an exponent of energy efficiency long before awareness of climate change became widespread.
The economist in him could see no reason to use, or pay for, more of something than was essential. It was better to save energy than to build more plants or import more oil, and to put people - plumbers, heating engineers, roofers and laggers, rather than consultants - to work making homes more fuel-efficient.
A central element of his work was the social policy aspects of energy conservation. He brought an encyclopedic knowledge of the energy sector to his role as the chair of the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes.
He also chaired a review of the energy microgeneration market by the then department of business, enterprise and regulatory reform; the local government association's climate change commission; and the government's fuel poverty methodology review. In addition, he took on the role of vice-chairman of the government's fuel poverty advisory group. He was also a judge of the Ashden local government awards for sustainable energy, where he took the lead role in visiting projects as well as in making every meeting amusing, tolerant and focused.
He never sought a political career (but his work was acknowledged in 2002 with the award of an OBE, Order of the British Empire), his commitment to improving the lives of others was as sure as - and more successful than - many an elected politician.
He married Anne Feltham in 1981 and they had one daughter, Sarah. Both survive him.
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