Who we are

Jackie Peel, Director

Jackie is the Director of Melbourne Climate Futures and a Professor at Melbourne Law School. She is a leading, internationally-recognised expert in the field of environmental and climate change law and an elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences Australia. She has published widely in climate and environmental law, including leading monographs on Climate Litigation and Principles of International Environmental Law.

Amongst many professional roles, Jackie has served as the Treasurer of the Australian & New Zealand Society of International Law, as a Co-Chair of the American Society of International Law’s Signature Initiative on Climate Change and as a Lead Author in Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report. She is on the editorial board of Transnational Environmental Law and is a co-founder of the Women’s Energy and Climate Law Network.

Jackie was a Fulbright and Hauser Scholar at NYU and has held visiting scholar positions at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. In 2022, she is directing the Centre for Studies and Research Program on Climate Change and International Law at The Hague Academy of International Law.

Kathryn Bowen, Deputy Director – Knowledge Translation

Kathryn is Professor in the Melbourne School of Global and Population Health, and an Affiliate Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam, Germany. Kathryn works at the nexus of global environmental change, global health and governance issues primarily in low and middle-income settings. She holds a PhD (ANU), MSc (International Health) (Humboldt & Frei Universities, Berlin) and BA/Psyc (Hons) (Newcastle).

Kathryn holds several key international roles, including Lead Author on the IPCC 6th Assessment Report, a member of the Science Committee of the World Adaptation Science Program; a member of the Steering Committee of the Future Earth Health Knowledge Action Network (Health KAN), and a member of the Taskforce on Planetary Justice Research as part of the Earth System Governance network.

Kathryn regularly advises the World Health Organization on climate change and health, as well as other national and international organisations, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the German Organisation for International Development, UNDP, Global Environment Facility, the Asian Development Bank and the City of Melbourne.

Kathryn is an editor of the journal Globalization and Health, and is a reviewer for many journals, including Social Science and Medicine, Global Health Action, and Environmental Research Letters among others.

Ben Neville, Deputy Director – Strategic Partnerships and Community Impact

Ben is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management & Marketing, Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne. Ben researches and teaches in sustainable business and society, including corporate social responsibility, business ethics, ethical consumption and social entrepreneurship. He is a Section Editor of the Corporate Responsibility (Theory and Qualitative) section of the leading international academic Journal of Business Ethics.

At the University, he serves as the Gourlay Fellow of Ethics in Business, and the Sustainability in the Curriculum Fellow for the Faculty of Business and Economics. Ben is also the Coordinator of the Governance, Policy and Markets Stream in the Master of Environment, Chair of the University's Fair Trade Steering Committee, and sits on the Executive Committee of the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute.

Janine Felson, Enterprise Fellow

Janine Felson is a senior level diplomat of the Government of Belize. She has served as legal counsel in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Belize-United Nations. She has been and continues to be a principal advocate for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) in complex international negotiations on global development policy, climate change, climate finance, law of the sea and oceans governance

She held leadership roles throughout her tenure at the United Nations including legal advisor to the President of the General Assembly (2013-2014), CARICOM lead negotiator for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2015), AOSIS lead finance negotiator (2014 – present), and deputy chair and chief strategist for Belize in its role as AOSIS Chair (2019-2020).  She has served on the Board of the Green Climate Fund, on the United Nations Secretary General’s High-level Expert Group on the Net Zero Emissions Commitment of Non-State Entities (2022) and recently concluded facilitation of Part II of the new treaty on marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (2023).

Janine is presently an Enterprise Fellow of Melbourne Climate Futures, University of Melbourne Law School, where she is supporting the development of a research hub for the Indo-Pacific Region, as its Inaugural Head, with a focus on thought leadership and capacity building in adaptation and resilience.

Lily O'Neill, Senior Research Fellow

Dr Lily O'Neill is a Senior Research Fellow for Melbourne Climate Futures. She is a legal researcher examining energy transition, climate repair, environmental regulation, native title and agreement-making.  Her particular focus for MCF is how these issues impact and benefit First Nations people in research projects that are First Nations community identified.

Lily is a former legal practitioner at a major Australian law firm, a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Commission on Environmental Law, and on the committee of local environmental group Sustainable Upper Ovens. She lives regionally on the country of the Taungurung people in north-east Victoria.

Arjuna Dibley, Head of the Sustainable Finance Hub

Dr. Arjuna Dibley is a Senior Research Associate at Melbourne Climate Futures. He is also an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Oxford’s Smith-School for Enterprise and Environment.

Arj is an expert in environmental law and economics. He uses quantitative and qualitative methods to research various aspects of climate change law and economics, sustainable finance, energy policy and corporate governance. Among others, his work has and will be published in Nature, Harvard Environmental Law Review, Journal of Cleaner Production and Foreign Policy. He has also published significant policy reports, including as a lead author on the United Nations Environment Programme’s Adaptation Gap Report.

Prior to his university role, Arj worked as a corporate lawyer, strategy adviser and policy analyst at leading sustainable finance organisations in Australia, Asia and the US. On the side of his research, Arj continues to advise governments, financial institutions, companies, philanthropists, and not-for-profits on various aspects of climate law, economics and sustainable finance. He is a Board Member and Company Secretary of Environmental Justice Australia, a Board Member of CarbonPlan and a Fellow at the Centre for Policy Development.

Arj has a doctorate in climate change law and economics from Stanford University which he earned as a General Sir John Monash Scholar, and undergraduate degrees in law and Asian studies from the Australian National University.

Adam Bumpus, Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Adam is a highly accomplished executive, consultant, and educator renowned for his expertise in climate change, sustainability, and corporate development. With a distinguished career spanning two decades, he has led teams in energy innovation, carbon markets, and strategic communications at leading academic institutions and as an international consultant for prominent global organizations. Adam's contributions encompass analyzing carbon markets, developing sustainability strategies, and spearheading projects on clean energy technology and carbon abatement. He excels in blending technical knowledge with corporate development and communications experience, making him a trusted advisor to intergovernmental and private sector organizations. Additionally, Adam is an award-winning science communicator and a sought-after keynote presenter, known for his inspiring insights on creating a sustainable future.

Belle Workman, Research Fellow

Dr Annabelle (Belle) Workman is a Research Fellow at Melbourne Climate Futures. She is a qualitative researcher with research interests that include climate change, human health, policy development, air quality and just energy transitions. She completed a PhD investigating the role of health co-benefits in the development of climate change mitigation policies in 2019 at the University of Melbourne’s Climate and Energy College. Since her PhD, she has completed a Research Fellowship at the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Institute for Medical Research with the environmental health group evaluating the smartphone health app, AirRater . Most recently, she has been a project officer with the University of Tasmania sustainability team and knowledge broker at the Centre for Air pollution, energy and health Research.

Rebekkah Markey-Towler, Research Fellow

Rebekkah (Bek) is a Research Fellow for Melbourne Climate Futures. She has a particular interest in environmental and climate change law, and has worked with Professor Jacqueline Peel at Melbourne Law School on a number of projects including: devising a legal blueprint for corporate energy transition, strategic climate change litigation, and legal frameworks for waste management in the Pacific and in times of pandemic. Previously, Rebekkah spent a year teaching English in Japan and spent 18 months as an associate to a judge at the Federal Court of Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts/Laws (Hons) from the University of Queensland.

Anthony Stark, Manager

Anthony is the Manager at Melbourne Climate Futures.  Anthony comes to MCF after a successful 20-year career in banking and finance that saw him work in various strategy, product and team leadership roles across Asia, the Pacific and Australia. An avid mountain biker, trail runner and hiker with a strong interest in sustainability and climate change issues, Anthony completed a Master of Environment at the University of Melbourne in 2018 before going on to undertake a PhD at the University of Tasmania, where he is currently researching the policy and justice considerations required to deliver a just energy transition.

Beth Barber, Communications Manager

Beth is a communication strategy specialist with a broad range of experience. After working as a book editor for a high-end small publisher, she shifted her focus to communications, managing communication and marketing for a boutique international law firm in Cairo, Egypt. She led communication for the former Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Melbourne, before commencing with Melbourne Climate Futures in 2021. She holds a Master of Arts (Writing, Editing and Publishing) and a Bachelor of Arts, both from the University of Queensland, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Journalism from Queensland University of Technology.

Philippa Garrard, Administrator and Project Support Officer

Philippa Garrard has a doctorate in Creative Writing from RMIT University. She has been at the University of Melbourne since 2012 working in a number of roles supporting and fostering interdisciplinary research. She coordinated the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Research Domains before moving to the Research, Innovation and Commercialisation team supporting the Hallmark Research Initiatives. Most recently, she supported the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness from May 2018 to July 2023, when she joined the team at Melbourne Climate Futures.

Joanne Burns, Administrator and Project Support Officer

Joanne is the administrator and project support officer for Melbourne Climate Futures. She has been at the University of Melbourne since 2021 where she worked as project officer for the Digital Studio in the Faculty of Arts before joining MCF. She has previously worked in a number of University and Government project support, event, and sustainability roles; including for Parks Victoria and Queen's University, Belfast. She has an interdisciplinary PhD in English and Music from Queen's University Belfast (2016).