Kevin M. Adams
Kevin M. Adams is an international climate policy expert and PhD candidate at LSE’s Grantham Research Institute, where his research is focused on the assessment and governance of transboundary climate risks. His work aims to support policy development and international climate negotiations across relevant multilateral fora including the UNFCCC and WTO.
Background
At the Grantham Research Institute, Kevin’s work sits at the science-policy interface, where he aims to support policy development and decision-making for risk management in a warming world. Trained as a geographer and political scientist, his primary research topics are 1) transboundary climate risks, 2) climate finance and multilateral climate funds, and 3) global climate policy.
In addition to his role at the Grantham Research Institute, Kevin serves as a Foreign Affairs Officer for the United States Department of State where he is engaged with a variety of multilateral processes related to international climate policy.
Prior to joining the GRI, Kevin was a Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute, where he served focal point to the Green Climate Fund and was a member of the Stockholm Sustainable Finance Centre. In 2020, Kevin also served as advisor to the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, specifically to the Swedish Board Member of the Green Climate Fund.
Kevin also helped to launch the Adaptation Without Borders Initiative, in partnership with colleagues from SEI, ODI, and IDDRI, aimed at responding to the global challenge of transboundary climate risks by creating opportunities to build and strengthen international collaboration on climate change adaptation.
Kevin has served as an expert contributor to a number of policy processes, including for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Green Climate Fund, the European Environment Agency, and the Global Commission on Adaptation. He has been the author of numerous academic journal articles, policy reports, and online features.
Kevin holds an MS in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado – Boulder, a BS in Geophysics from Michigan State University, and a BS in Social Sciences from Michigan State University.
Research interests
- Transboundary Climate Risks
- International Climate Policy
- Global Environmental Governance
- Commodity Trade
- Supply Chain Management
- Climate Finance
- Sustainable Finance
Research
Research - 2023
The authors of this paper study the coordination efforts of the two most important multilateral climate funds, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), on the global level as well as within two recipient countries, Kenya and Zambia. Read more
The authors of this paper unpack the contested nature of legitimacy by examining the governance of transboundary climate risks (TCRs) in agricultural supply-chains. Read more
Research - 2022
The authors of this paper provide a a synthesis of knowledge on how, by whom and where adaptation actions can be taken in the agriculture and industrial sectors to reduce these transboundary climate risks (TCRs). Read more
Policy
Policy - 2021
This policy brief, for the Stockholm Environment Institute, presents policy insights from a groundbreaking assessment of climate risks to international trade in six major commodities. Read more
This report, for the Stockholm Environment Institute, provides a first systematic, quantitative assessment of transboundary climate risks to trade in major agricultural commodities – maize, rice, wheat, soy, sugar cane, and coffee. Read more
The authors of this publication, for the Stockholm Environment Institute, propose a framework for a just transition for climate change... Read more
News
News - 2022
In this video for the Stockholm Environment Institute, lead author Kevin M. Adams summarizes the key insights on trade, climate change and food security from a report jointly published by SEI, Mistra Geopolitics and Adaptation Without Borders. Read more
