Dr. Rachel Cleetus is the senior policy director for the Climate and Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. She leads the organization’s efforts in designing and advocating for robust, just, and equitable policies to address climate change.
Dr. Cleetus is an expert in climate resilience and clean energy policies, with over twenty years of experience. She also does research on the risks and costs of climate impacts to people and the economy, and transformative pathways to a clean energy transition. She is an expert on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and has been attending international climate negotiations since 2009.
Dr. Cleetus holds a PhD and an MA in economics from Duke University and a BS in economics from West Virginia University. She has testified before Congress; served as a member of the National Academies Roundtable on Macroeconomics and Climate-related Risks, and Opportunities; participated in a U.S. Treasury Roundtable on Insurance and Climate-Related Risks; and has been quoted widely in the media.