Katherine Browne

Katherine Browne is a Senior Research Fellow in the International Climate Risk and Adaptation Team at SEI Headquarters. Her research focuses on global governance, international climate finance, and inequality. She joined SEI in 2021.

Katherine leads projects focused on improving equity in climate finance and understanding the opportunities and constraints of locally led climate adaptation. She heads the adaptation portfolio under SEI’s framework agreement with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD). She also leads SEI’s partnership with the World Bank’s “Financing for Locally Led Climate Action” platform, which aims to deepen knowledge about locally led adaptation among Development Finance Institutions.

Katherine frequently engages in policy forums, including the recent three-year “Technical Expert Dialogue” process to develop the new climate finance goal adopted at COP 29. She has also authored reports for the UN Climate Convention (UNFCCC), most recently producing the synthesis report for the Second Periodic Review. She publishes extensively in international peer-reviewed journals and regularly contributes to media.

Before joining SEI, Katherine conducted extensive fieldwork in the Western Indian Ocean region. She completed a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship in Madagascar and a Fulbright Fellowship in Mauritius. She also worked as a team leader and writer for Earth Negotiations Bulletin, where she regularly covered climate change negotiations, specializing in climate finance, transparency, and adaptation.

Katherine received her PhD from the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan (USA), where her dissertation focused on equity in international climate finance. She also holds an M.S. in Environmental Justice from the University of Michigan.