I am a geographer and writer working at the intersection of climate politics, environmental justice, and the Arctic.
My latest work focuses on environmental governance and how different people 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. Expected 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," with G. Rock. Climatic Change, 2024.
"From Capacity Building to Capacity Sharing," 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 and Arctic studies, human and political geography, and critical theory.
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.
Courses taught (as instructor of record) include:
Critical Ecologies: Alternative Visions of Environmental Community
The Human Nature of Climate Apocalypse
On Thin Ice: Climate Change in Western Alaska
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