Claire DUPONT

Responding effectively and fairly to climate change is a daunting task: Nothing less than the transformation of our underlying societal, cultural, and technological systems along with fair individual efforts will do. Everyone has a role to play.

Claire Dupont is political scientist, whose research focuses on the politics of sustainable transitions in Europe. She currently works as Research Professor of the governance of sustainability transformations at Ghent University, Belgium. Until December 2024, she served as the Chair of the Scientific Committee of the European Environment Agency. Originally from Ireland, Claire moved to Brussels, Belgium, in 2008, to pursue her PhD at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels, in which she assessed the integration of EU climate and energy policy frameworks. In 2024, Claire returned to Ireland as a visiting professor at Dublin City University’s Institute for Climate and Society.

Clearly, our knowledge systems also need to change to contribute to the necessary transformation, including by becoming more engaged and embedded in policy and societal processes. I am honoured to have the opportunity to play a role in these efforts through the work of the OPC.