Lauren Gifford, PhD

Dr. Lauren Gifford is a human-environment geographer whose work looks at intersections of climate policy, conservation, markets and justice, with particular focus on carbon markets and offsets, climate finance, and climate tech. Her research asks how, and by whom, carbon is quantified, standardized and commodified for carbon removal and nature-based climate solutions.

Dr. Gifford is Associate Director of Colorado State University’s Soil Carbon Solutions Center and faculty in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability. She’s also a member of the global Earth Commission, and has conducted field research in the Peruvian Amazon, in Maine’s forests, on Cuban organic farms, at the UNFCCC, and at civil society meetings around the globe. Previously, she was manager of Dartmouth College’s Climate Justice Research Project, examining the justice implications of carbon markets.

Dr. Gifford is regularly consulted as a subject matter expert on NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, and more.