Who we are

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.

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.

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

Senior Research Associate

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.

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.

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.