Research Bio

Jonas Meckling is Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, where he leads the Energy and Environment Policy Lab and the Climate Program of the Berkeley Economy and Society Initiative. ​He also co-directs the Green Industrial Strategy Project, a joint initiative between UC Berkeley and Harvard Business School. 

He studies the political economy of the energy transition, examining how countries can pursue green economic development under political and geopolitical constraints. His work spans climate, energy, and economic policy — and extends beyond national economies to ask how companies can decarbonize and compete in global clean energy markets.

He is the author of two books and publishes in leading journals across public policy, political science, and multidisciplinary research. He is currently completing a third book on political pathways to energy transitions, under contract with Princeton University Press. His work has received support from major national and international funders, including the Hewlett Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the Sloan Foundation. He has also been recognized with an emerging scholar award and multiple paper prizes from the American Political Science Association.

As a public scholar, Meckling writes for policy and popular audiences, with pieces appearing in Foreign Affairs and the Washington Post, among other outlets. He engages actively with policymakers and has, for example, collaborated with the International Energy Agency, the International Renewable Energy Agency, and the World Bank.

He was a Visiting Professor at Harvard Business School (2023–25) and the Coleman P. Burke Distinguished Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University (2021). He has also served as Senior Advisor to the German Minister for the Environment and Renewable Energy, as a Research Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, and as a staff member at the European Commission. He holds a Ph.D. in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics.

Research Expertise and Interest

climate policy, energy policy, industrial policy, business and environment, political economy