Michelle Lyons

Michelle Lyons is a Research Fellow and PhD scholar at the Australian National University's Resources, Environment and Development Department (READ) within the Crawford School of Public Policy. She holds a concurrent appointment as a Climate Change Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute’s Indo-Pacific Development Centre. Her doctoral research focuses on the role of public financial institutions like green banks in achieving net-zero emissions, with emphasis on geoeconomics and climate justice.

Education:

• Masters in Public Policy, University of New South Wales
• Bachelor of Media and Communications (Honours), University of New South Wales

Research explores intersections between climate finance mechanisms, multilateral cooperation, and energy transition policies. Key themes include cross-border electricity trade in ASEAN, Australia’s climate negotiations, and innovative policy mixes for decarbonization. Her work bridges academic research with policy advocacy, contributing to forums like COP28 and the UNFCCC.

Notable contributions include proposing an Indo-Pacific Economic Resilience Bank and analyzing green bank value creation strategies. She has been invited to speak at institutions including the University of Cambridge and Dartmouth College.

Awards:

• Sir Roland Wilson PhD Scholarship
• ANU JW Land Research Fellowship
• EU-Australia Leadership Dialogue Emerging Leader (2017)

Supervised by Prof Frank Jotzo, her thesis explores public green banks’ roles in Paris Agreement implementation. She remains affiliated with Australia’s climate policy sector while on academic leave.