Emma is a Professor of Environment and Development at University of Southampton.

She has worked on climate change adaptation since 2001 specifically barriers and limits to institutional adaptation, public-private partnerships for adaptation, and drivers of individual action and national policy on adaptation.

She has been a lead author for the IPCC Assessment Report Five, a contributing author to the IPCC Special Report on Climate Extremes and Disasters, an expert reviewer for the IPCC Assessment Report Four, and provides on-going expert reviews for research councils in the UK and other European countries. Emma was part of the lead expert group for the Government Office of Science Foresight project ‘Improving Future Disaster Anticipation and Resilience’

She has published numerous papers, articles and policy briefs on environmental management, adaptation to climate change, and social and ecological resilience as well as handbooks on surviving climate change in small islands and participatory coastal zone management.

She has a PhD Environmental Science (UEA), MSc Environmental and Resource Economics (UCL) and BA Economics (Leicester).

Research interests

• Sustainable adaptation to climate change;
• Social transitions and processes of institutional change;
• Individual behaviour in a changing environment.