News  |  November 15, 2022

Project Drawdown launches world-class science team

Four world-class researchers are joining Project Drawdown as inaugural members of our new science team. Their mission: to advance the science of how to effectively implement climate solutions; to advance the public discourse on climate solutions; and to collaborate with leading companies, funders, and organizations to accelerate action to quickly, safely, and equitably halt climate change.

The four, James Gerber, Ph.D.; Kate Marvel, Ph.D.; Amanda D. Smith, Ph.D.; and Paul West, Ph.D., will join Project Drawdown over the next four months. The team members will conduct frontline research on critical topics related to climate solutions, helping Project Drawdown build roadmaps for their implementation. They also will serve as public-facing subject matter experts on climate solutions, providing thought leadership to inform science-based decisions by policymakers, investors, philanthropists, corporate leaders, and others around the world.

“Project Drawdown is at an important inflection point as the world gains momentum for halting climate change—shifting from identifying and characterizing climate solutions to building an action plan for deploying them,” said Project Drawdown executive director Jonathan Foley, Ph.D. “This team will be at the forefront of our work to home in on a clear strategy for stopping climate change.”

Meet the team: 

James Gerber, Ph.D., is a data scientist with expertise on agriculture’s impact on Earth’s ecosystems, food security, and the interrelation of climate and food security.  Lead author for the Sixth Assessment Report of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) with a focus on development pathways, he comes to Project Drawdown from the University of Minnesota.  

Kate Marvel, Ph.D., is a climate scientist and writer who has published extensively in both academic press and mainstream media. A chapter lead on the Fifth U.S. National Climate Assessment, she holds a doctoral degree in theoretical physics from Cambridge University. Previous positions include the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Stanford University.

Amanda D. Smith, Ph.D., is a researcher and analyst with expertise in building science and energy systems modeling. Her professional career includes academic, national laboratory, and industry positions. Most recently, she served as senior energy analyst at SOCOTEC USA. She received her doctorate from Mississippi State University.

Paul West, Ph.D., is an ecologist researching solutions on managing lands and waters to improve food security, climate, nature, and people’s lives. More broadly, he is driven by conducting cutting-edge science and working with others to effect change on the ground. He previously worked at The Nature Conservancy and the University of Minnesota. He received his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin.  

Project Drawdown will be adding to the team in the future across a wide range of disciplines to provide deep and diverse insights into climate solutions.

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Video  |  February 27, 2024
The climate solutions worth funding – now
There’s no question about it: We have all of the solutions to climate change we need. But which solutions should we deploy, and when and where should we deploy them, to have the biggest impact in the least amount of time?  In his latest TED Talk, Project Drawdown executive director Jonathan Foley presents the Drawdown Roadmap, a science-based framework for identifying the best solutions to use at the right time and in the right place to address climate change while improving human well-being and providing other benefits as well.  From emphasizing emergency brake solutions to elevating the importance of time over tech, the talk is sure to inform and inspire you as much as it did the live audience of executives, scientists, policymakers, artists, activists, innovators, and others at TED Countdown Summit 2023 in Detroit. Speaking to an invitation-only audience, Foley unpacked the Roadmap’s signature approach to allocating climate solutions funding to maximize returns on investment: 1) start with solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions immediately; 2) deploy currently available solutions rather than count on new technologies to do the job later; 3) home in on geographic hot spots; and 4) prioritize solutions that also boost human well-being. Watch the video now by clicking on the image above – then share with colleagues and others who might benefit from this important message.
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