David G. Victor
Nonresident Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Global Economy and Development, Energy Security and Climate Initiative
David Victor is a professor of innovation and public policy at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego. He is the Center for Global Transformation Endowed Chair in Innovation and Public Policy. Victor is also the co-director of the campus-wide Deep Decarbonization Initiative, which focuses on real world strategies for bringing the world to nearly zero emissions of warming gases. Victor is also an adjunct professor in climate, atmospheric science, and physical oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Prior to joining the faculty at UC San Diego, Victor was a professor at Stanford Law School where he taught energy and environmental law.
His research focuses on regulated industries and how regulation affects the operation of major energy markets. Much of his research is at the intersection of climate change science and policy. Victor authored "Global Warming Gridlock," which explains why the world hasn't made much diplomatic progress on the problem of climate change while also exploring new strategies that would be more effective. The book was recognized by The Economist as one of the best books of 2011.
Victor was a convening lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations-sanctioned international body with 195 country members that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Victor has been tapped by Southern California Edison to lead the company’s Community Engagement Panel for decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. According to utility officials, he was chosen to lead the panel because he has the vision, leadership, and experience to bring together a diverse group of concerned people. Victor, in 2016, was appointed to co-chair the Cross-Brookings Initiative on Energy and Climate. He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Energy, where his work focuses on the role of natural gas as a transition fuel to deep decarbonization as well as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2020, Victor was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest and most esteemed honorary societies in the nation.
At UC San Diego, Victor and researchers at the Deep Decarbonization Initiative work at the intersection of science, technology and policy. They are focused on helping the world cut emissions of warming gases given the very real technology, economic and political constraints that exist.
Affiliations:
American Association for the Advancement of Science, member
American Geophysical Union, chair
American Political Science Association, member
American Society of International Law, member
International Institute for Strategic Studies, member
International Studies Association, member
David Victor is a professor of innovation and public policy at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego. He is the Center for Global Transformation Endowed Chair in Innovation and Public Policy. Victor is also the co-director of the campus-wide Deep Decarbonization Initiative, which focuses on real world strategies for bringing the world to nearly zero emissions of warming gases. Victor is also an adjunct professor in climate, atmospheric science, and physical oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Prior to joining the faculty at UC San Diego, Victor was a professor at Stanford Law School where he taught energy and environmental law.
His research focuses on regulated industries and how regulation affects the operation of major energy markets. Much of his research is at the intersection of climate change science and policy. Victor authored “Global Warming Gridlock,” which explains why the world hasn’t made much diplomatic progress on the problem of climate change while also exploring new strategies that would be more effective. The book was recognized by The Economist as one of the best books of 2011.
Victor was a convening lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations-sanctioned international body with 195 country members that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Victor has been tapped by Southern California Edison to lead the company’s Community Engagement Panel for decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. According to utility officials, he was chosen to lead the panel because he has the vision, leadership, and experience to bring together a diverse group of concerned people. Victor, in 2016, was appointed to co-chair the Cross-Brookings Initiative on Energy and Climate. He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Energy, where his work focuses on the role of natural gas as a transition fuel to deep decarbonization as well as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2020, Victor was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest and most esteemed honorary societies in the nation.
At UC San Diego, Victor and researchers at the Deep Decarbonization Initiative work at the intersection of science, technology and policy. They are focused on helping the world cut emissions of warming gases given the very real technology, economic and political constraints that exist.
Affiliations:
American Association for the Advancement of Science, member
American Geophysical Union, chair
American Political Science Association, member
American Society of International Law, member
International Institute for Strategic Studies, member
International Studies Association, member
[On corporate climate risk disclosure] The big blind spot is the physical risk of climate change.
[On recent corporate climate pledges] There is a difference between energy efficiency and this. This is looking far beyond that. Net zero does not mean efficiency; it means complete transformation, and that’s the challenge.
There’s a highly uneven response to the climate challenge from the oil and gas industry. The European companies are out in front, and the American ones—Exxon in particular—are lagging far behind.
Addressing climate change in US defense strategy and budget
Prioritizing clean energy investments in emerging and developing economies
The rising impacts of climate change: Implications for science, law, capital markets, and policy
