I work at the intersection of climate politics and environmental justice.
My latest work focuses on environmental governance, particularly in the Arctic, and how we think and talk about climate catastrophe.
My research has been published in journals such as Nature Climate Change, Nature Sustainability, Climatic Change, Environmental Research Letters, One Earth, and Progress in Environmental Geography. My work has been covered by The Washington Post, BBC, The Guardian, The Financial Times, Al Jazeera, and more.
My essays and op-eds appear in The New York Times, The New Republic, Emergence, Grist, The Independent, and High Country News.
In the past, I served as an expert reviewer for the IPCC's 6th Assessment Report and advised two U.S. Presidential campaigns on climate policy. I received my PhD in Polar Studies and Geography from the Univ. of Cambridge, where I was a Gates Scholar.
Today, I am based at the University of Oxford and the University of California, Berkeley.
Selected & forthcoming work
Books:
The Longest Night. A work of nonfiction about climate change, colonization, and the politics of survival in Western Alaska. Under contract with Atria Books (Simon & Schuster) for publication in 2027.
The Maps Are Not the Territory. A study of how climate apocalypse narratives shape environmental governance and contemporary society. Contract under negotiation. Estimated publication in 2029.
Articles:
"UNFCCC carbon trading could undermine global climate action." with S. Zaman, I. Johnstone, and B. Haya. Nature Climate Change, 2026.
"Carbon Offsets: A Critical Review." with J. Romm and A. Alshamsi. Annual Review of Environment & Resources, 2025.
"On Micropolitics: Climate Adaptation and Indigenous Governance in Western Alaska." A study of the political geography of Tribal climate adaptation, with G. Rock. Climatic Change, 2024.
"From Capacity Building to Capacity Sharing." A framework for more reciprocal relationships across research, policy, and Indigenous communities. Nature Sustainability, 2023.
The New York Times | "American Towns Are at Risk of Tumbling Into the Ocean" (guest essay)
The New Republic | "How the Presidential Primary Distorts Climate Politics" (guest essay)
The New York Times | Scientists Just Gave Humanity an Overdue Reality Check (guest essay)
Selected public writing
I teach environmental change, human and political geography, critical theory, and Arctic studies.
I have designed and taught courses at Oxford’s School of Geography and the Environment, Cambridge’s Department of Geography, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Northwest Campus.
Courses taught:
Critical Ecologies — University of Oxford
The Human Nature of Climate Apocalypse — University of Cambridge
Geographies of the Cryosphere — University of Cambridge
On Thin Ice: Climate Change in Western Alaska — University of Alaska Fairbanks
I have also supervised undergraduate dissertations at Cambridge and graduate dissertations at Oxford and UC Berkeley. I also teach students to translate research into op-eds, policy memoranda, and other forms of public communication.
Before beginning my PhD, I taught high school geography in London and received a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) from the University of Buckingham.
stephen.lezak@gmail.com