Timo Leiter

Dr. Timo Leiter is a Distinguished Policy Fellow at the London School of Economics (LSE), affiliated with the Grantham Research Institute. He is a globally recognized expert on climate change adaptation working at the intersection of research, policy, and implementation. Winner of the ESRC Celebrating Impact Prize 2024 in the early career category, his work has significantly influenced UN climate negotiations and national adaptation planning processes worldwide.

Leiter's research focuses on climate change adaptation, global climate policy negotiations, monitoring and evaluation systems, global environmental governance, and international development. His expertise in adaptation monitoring systems has directly shaped international climate policy, including the development of the first set of global adaptation targets adopted at COP28 that all countries agreed to implement by 2030.

His extensive publication record demonstrates consistent leadership in analyzing global adaptation progress. Leiter has been instrumental in developing UNEP's Adaptation Gap Report assessment framework and has led its chapter on global progress on implementation since 2020. His research has revealed critical gaps in adaptation implementation, notably finding that over 60% of countries with National Adaptation Plans do not track their implementation.

• ESRC Celebrating Impact Prize 2024 (early career category)
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA)

Leiter advises multiple governments on developing effective monitoring systems for national adaptation plans, including the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). He co-leads the UNFCCC expert group developing indicators for global adaptation targets and has contributed to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report. His methodological contributions include practical guides for national adaptation M&E systems and the Adaptation M&E Navigator tool.