Blog icon

Dr Pep Canadell

Chief Research Scientist

https://people.csiro.au/C/P/Pep-Canadell

Contact

Please enter a valid first name

Please enter a valid last name

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter your message to send to the contact

Contact details:

Biography

Pep is a Chief Research Scientist in CSIRO Environment, Chief Lead Investigator in the Climate Systems Hub of the National Environmental Science Program, and the Executive Director of the Global Carbon Project, a global consortium of scientists under the umbrella of Future Earth and a scientific partner of the World Climate Research Programme.

Pep holds a BSc, a MSc, and a PhD degree in Biology and Terrestrial Ecology from the University Autonomous of Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain). Upon completing his PhD and throughout the 1990s, Pep held three research positions in the USA at San Diego State University, the University of California at Berkeley, and Stanford University. He then moved to CSIRO in Australia, where he has been working since.

Pep focuses on collaborative and highly integrative research to develop national, continental, and global budgets and trend analyses of the main greenhouse gases. He also studies the size and vulnerability of Earth’s carbon sinks and pools, carbon-climate feedbacks, and pathways to net-zero emissions, including land-based carbon sequestration and negative emissions. He has also focused on abrupt impacts and ecosystem collapse resulting from climate change, particularly due to wildfires. He draws on a robust understanding of regional and global biogeochemical cycles to inform the formulation of sub-national, national, and international policies and actions to mitigate climate change.

Pep has contributed to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for the last 20 years and has participated in multiple assessments by the World Meteorological Organization. Pep is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and the American Geophysical Union. Reuters named him the 8th most influential climate scientist in the world in 2021. Pep has co-authored over 300 peer-reviewed research papers (with 80 papers in the journals of Nature/s and Science). He has edited 18 books and special research journal issues. His published work has attracted over 160k citations in the scientific literature (Google Scholar, H-index 140), and he has been a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher in Environment & Ecology and/or Geosciences every year since 2017.

Pep also maintains strong connections with government agencies, businesses, and NGOs in Australia and around the world, translating the complex science of climate change to support policy development and decarbonization pathways. He is also a keen science communicator, engaging with national and international traditional media, social media, and evidence-based journalism at The Conversation with over 3 million reads.

Current Roles

  • Executive Director
    global carbon project

  • Chief Lead Investigator
    Climate Systems Hub of the National Environmental Science Program (NESP)

  • Chief Investigator
    NESP Earth Systems and Climate Change Hub

Academic Qualifications

  • 1995

    PhD
    Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona

  • 1989

    Master in Ecology
    Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Catalonia

Professional Experiences

  • 1995-1998

    Research Associate and Scientific Officer for Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems (GCTE) of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program
    Stanford University, CA, USA

  • 1993-1994

    Research Associate
    University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

  • 1991-1992

    Lecturer and Adjunct Professor
    San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

Achievements and Awards

  • 2025-2026

    Fellow
    Australian Academy of Science

  • 2024-2026

    Fellow
    Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering

  • 2024-2026

    Fellow
    Royal Academy of Science and Arts of Barcelona

  • 2022-2026

    Fellow
    Institute d'Estudis Catalans

  • 2017-2026

    Fellow
    American Geophysical Union

  • 2021-2021

    8th most influential climate scientist in the world
    Reuters - Top 1000 climate scientists

  • 2018-2018

    GCP - Prospect Think Tank Award on Energy and Environment
    Prospect - London

  • 2017

    Highly cited researcher in Geoscience
    Web of Science-Clarivate Analytics

  • 2014

    Newton Turner Career Award
    CSIRO

  • 2007

    Member of IPCC awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
    Nobel Prize

Publications

We have publications by Dr Pep Canadell