Diana Liverman

I am an Emerita Professor of Geography at the University of Arizona. While I no longer teach or supervise graduate students, I continue to research and write on climate and environmental issues, especially the human dimensions of climate change. My interests and publications have focused on climate vulnerability and adaptation, carbon offsets,  US-Mexico border environments, planetary boundaries, political ecology, culture and climate, and women in climate change. 

was born in Accra, Ghana, and grew up in England, moving to North America for graduate work. I was a PhD student and postdoc at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Colorado (working with Steve Schneider) and received my degrees from UCLA (PhD Geography), University of Toronto (MA Geography) and University College London (BA Geography).  I have been a faculty member in geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Penn State University, the University of Arizona, and Oxford University.  I spent time as the Director of the Institute of the Environment (now the Arizona Institutes for Resilience) at the University of Arizona and the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University. I also hold a Research Fellowship at Linacre College, Oxford University where I am the former director of the Environmental Change Institute.  I have supervised the theses and dissertations of more than 70 graduate students.

Career highlights include serving on the Earth Commission of Future Earth, the US-NRC Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change (now BECS), the US-NRC panel on Informing America’s Climate Choices, the scientific advisory committee for the InterAmerican Institute (IAI) and the ICSU Global Environmental Change and Food Systems (GECAFS) project. I have been a lead author and review editor for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)  including the 2018 Special Report on 1.5C.  In 2020 I was honored to be elected to the US National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2022 as a fellow of the British Academy.  

My current (as of 2024) research and other activities include:

• Lead Author for the synthesis chapter of the North American Biodiversity and Climate Change Assessment  BCCA (2024-25)

• Long-term service on the board of Julie's Bicycle - a UK based organization focused on climate change and the cultural sector including art and music

• Coordinating committee for Third Act Arizona - a group motivating seniors for climate action.  

• Mayor of Tucson's advisory committee on climate change.  

• Volunteer Docent at Reid Park Zoo.

The best way to contact me is by email at liverman@arizona.edu 

In consultation with Native American scholars the University of Arizona adopted an acknowledgment that states "We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples. Today, Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized tribes, with Tucson being home to the O'odham and the Yaqui. Committed to diversity and inclusion, the University strives to build sustainable relationships with sovereign Native Nations and Indigenous communities through education offerings, partnerships, and community service."  I do my best to be an ally to Indigenous colleagues and communities.