Kimberly Nicholas

Sustainability scientist with the mission to keep carbon out of the atmosphere, and to help society rapidly and fairly achieve its democratically established sustainability goals, including the Paris Agreement, the Global Biodiversity Framework, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. My research identifies and quantifies emissions reductions from high-impact climate solutions, from households, municipalities, businesses, nations, and international policy. Decades of experience in sustainable land and food systems, from policies and scientific potential for carbon sequestration in ecosystems to climate adaptation and mitigation in the wine industry. Coordinating Lead Author for the IPBES Second Global Assessment of Nature (Good Quality of Life in Harmony with Nature). I am keen to provide robust scientific evidence for moving from “what” to “how” in implementing climate action at speed and scale in the real world. Much of my recent research has focused on “who can do what” for high-impact climate action in different contexts. But it is not enough to identify effective actions and policies; we must also understand how these actions can successfully get implemented in the real world to reduce emissions, amidst often gridlocked politics, competing priorities, limited budgets, and structural inequalities. As part of my aim to bring evidence-based sustainability policy and practice from idea to impact for societal benefit, I focus substantial effort on climate science and climate action communication through writing, public speaking, and serving as a public expert in national and international media.