Kelly Levin

Senior Associate; Director of Tracking and Strengthening Climate Action

Bio

Kelly Levin is a senior associate with WRI’s global climate program. She focuses her work on supporting countries in the design and tracking of climate commitments, as well as planning for long-term transitions associated with decarbonization. Kelly closely follows the negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and analyzes related emissions reduction commitments. Kelly also plays a leading role in WRI on communicating climate science developments.

Kelly pursued her doctoral work at Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where her research focused on adaptation policies to contend with climate impacts to biodiversity. During her PhD studies, she was also a writer for the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Reporting Services, covering the UN climate change negotiations.

Kelly has also worked as a climate policy/technical analyst at NESCAUM (Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management), where she devoted her time to developing a regional greenhouse gas registry in the Northeast and assisting states in the development of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

Kelly holds a PhD and Master of Environmental Management from Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a B.A. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Yale College.

She has been awarded the Google Climate Science Communication Fellowship and the Academic Council on the United Nations System Dissertation Award, and is a Switzer Fellow, Teresa Heinz Scholar, and Udall Scholar.

Blogs

Climate Action Must Progress Far Faster to Achieve 1.5 C Goal
by Katie Lebling, Kelly Levin, Louise Jeffery, Dan Plechaty, Mengpin Ge, Johannes Friedrich and Richard Waite - November 19, 2020
New research shows that climate action is happening far too slowly for the world to meet its emissions-reduction targets – and in some cases, we’re moving in the entirely wrong direction.
7 Ways to Spot Robust Net-Zero National Commitments
by Kelly Levin, David Rich, Katherine Ross, Taryn Fransen and Cynthia Elliott - September 21, 2020
While setting a net-zero target can signal a serious commitment to long-term climate action, several critical design factors determine the rigor of these targets and the extent to which they set a country on a plausible pathway to a net-zero future in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
6 Graphics Explain the Climate Feedback Loop Fueling US Fires
by Nancy Harris, Thailynn Munroe and Kelly Levin - September 16, 2020
Increased global emissions lead to higher temperatures and more fire-prone conditions. With more fires comes more emissions, fueling rapid climate change.
This Month in Climate Science, June-July 2020: Vanishing Polar Bears, Record Floods, Melting Arctic and Antarctic Ice
by Kelly Levin and Dennis Tirpak - August 20, 2020
Every month, climate scientists make new discoveries that advance our understanding of climate change's causes and impacts. The research gives a clearer picture of the threats we already face and explores what's to come if we don't reduce emissions at...
6 Ways to Remove Carbon Pollution from the Sky
by James Mulligan, Gretchen Ellison, Kelly Levin, Katie Lebling and Alex Rudee - June 09, 2020
To prevent the worst impacts of climate change, we'll need to remove carbon dioxide from the sky in addition to reducing emissions.
This Month in Climate Science, February-March 2020: Carbon Sinks Shrink, Bumble Bees Decline, Nightingale Wings Shorten – and Ecosystems Could Collapse Faster
by Kelly Levin and Dennis Tirpak - April 27, 2020
The past few months have brought alarming signs of a changing climate, many of which are in line with projections of a warming world, including record warmth in Antarctica, record coral bleaching in Australia and the hottest winter ever recorded in the EU and Russia.
5 Visible Signs of Climate Change in Antarctica
by Kelly Levin - April 10, 2020
From red snow to shrinking penguin populations, Antarctica — and the life that depends on it — is already transforming as the result of climate change.
This Month in Climate Science, January 2020: More Injury-related Deaths, Mass Seabird Die-off, River Ice Disappearing
by Kelly Levin and Dennis Tirpak - February 28, 2020
Scientists discovered that warmer temperatures will bring more injury-related deaths and violent crime in the United States. This post explores this and other studies published in January 2020.
5 Ways the US Government Can Kickstart a CarbonShot to Remove Carbon from the Atmosphere
by James Mulligan, Kelly Levin, Alex Rudee and Katie Lebling - January 31, 2020
To prevent the most dangerous impacts of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions will have to reach net zero by 2050. That will require both deep cuts in emissions and the removal of remaining emissions directly from the atmosphere. Making that happen will take concerted U.S. innovation akin to a moonshot. In this case, it's a CarbonShot.
2020 Could Be the Year Carbon Removal Takes Off
by Katie Lebling, Alex Rudee and Kelly Levin - January 15, 2020
With global greenhouse gases on track to rise — again — to their highest level in history, there's increasing interest in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In just a year, carbon removal has gone from being seen as a "radical fix" to a necessary tool to address the climate crisis.

Commentaries

Climate Action for Today and Tomorrow: The Relationship between NDCs and LTSs

September 19, 2019

This commentary explores how two critical elements of the Paris Agreement – nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and long-term strategies (LTSs) – relate to one another, and how countries can allocate resources efficiently to develop both in a synergistic manner.

External Publications

"The Interplay between Accounting and Reporting on Mitigation Contributions under the Paris Agreement."
By Levin Kelly.
Carbon & Climate Law Review 12 (2018): 203-208 DOI: 10.21552/cclr/2018/3/6.

"Overcoming the tragedy of super wicked problems: constraining our future selves to ameliorate global climate change."
By Levin Kelly, Cashore Benjamin, Bernstein Steven, Auld Graeme.
Policy Sciences 45 (2012): 123-152 DOI: 10.1007/s11077-012-9151-0.

"National GHG emissions reduction pledges and 2°C: comparison of studies."
By Levin Kelly, Höhne Niklas, Taylor Christopher, Elias Ramzi, Elzen Michel Den, Riahi Keywan, Chen Claudine, Rogelj Joeri, Grassi Giacomo, Wagner Fabian, Massetti Emanuele, Xiusheng Zhao.
Climate Policy 12 (2012): 356-377 DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2011.637818.

"Building the Forest-Climate Bandwagon: REDD+ and the Logic of Problem Amelioration."
By Levin Kelly, McDermott Constance, Cashore Benjamin.
Global Environmental Politics 11 (2011): 85-103 DOI: 10.1162/GLEP_a_00070.

"Tradeoffs in the Policy Process in Advancing Climate Change Adaptation: The Case of Australia's Great Eastern Ranges Initiative."
By Levin Kelly, Petersen Brian.
Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research 3 (2011): 145-162 DOI: 10.1080/19390459.2011.557879.

"The Climate Regime as Global Forest Governance: Can Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) Initiatives Pass a ‘Dual Effectiveness’ Test?."
By Levin Kelly, McDermott C., Cashore B..
International Forestry Review 10 (2008): 538-549 DOI: 10.1505/ifor.10.3.538.

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Kelly Levin

Climate Action Must Progress Far Faster to Achieve 1.5 C Goal

7 Ways to Spot Robust Net-Zero National Commitments

6 Graphics Explain the Climate Feedback Loop Fueling US Fires

This Month in Climate Science, June-July 2020: Vanishing Polar Bears, Record Floods, Melting Arctic and Antarctic Ice

6 Ways to Remove Carbon Pollution from the Sky

This Month in Climate Science, February-March 2020: Carbon Sinks Shrink, Bumble Bees Decline, Nightingale Wings Shorten – and Ecosystems Could Collapse Faster

5 Visible Signs of Climate Change in Antarctica

This Month in Climate Science, January 2020: More Injury-related Deaths, Mass Seabird Die-off, River Ice Disappearing

5 Ways the US Government Can Kickstart a CarbonShot to Remove Carbon from the Atmosphere

2020 Could Be the Year Carbon Removal Takes Off

Climate Action for Today and Tomorrow: The Relationship between NDCs and LTSs

State of Climate Action: Assessing Progress toward 2030 and 2050

Designing and Communicating Net-Zero Targets

Implementing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

CarbonShot: Federal Policy Options for Carbon Removal in the United States

Making Sense of Article 6: Key Issues and What's at Stake

Commentary: Climate Action for Today and Tomorrow: The Relationship between NDCs and LTSs

Enhancing NDCs: A Guide to Strengthening National Climate Plans

Good Governance for Long-Term Low-Emissions Development Strategies

Scaling Up Ambition: Leveraging Nationally Determined Contributions and Long-Term Strategies to Achieve the Paris Agreement Goals

Tracking Progress of the 2020 Climate Turning Point

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