Kimiko Hirata, PhD

CEO

Dr. Kimiko Hirata, Goldman Environmental Prize laureate and TED speaker, is the CEO of Climate Integrate, which she founded in 2022 as an independent non-profit climate policy think tank. Drawing upon over three decades of experience in UNFCCC processes and climate and energy policy, she guides research and supports various actors in advancing decarbonization. Through this work, she is demonstrating a new model for think tanks and team-building to meet the challenges of our time. She balances a busy work life with quiet moments and time for the piano.

She has been awarded and recognized for her multifaceted efforts to tackle coal power and engage in shareholder activism during her years working at the Japanese non-profit Kiko Network, and her continued efforts at Climate Integrate.

Kimiko is a visiting professor at Rikkyo University and serves as an environmental policy advisor for Ichikawa City. She holds a PhD in social sciences from Waseda University in Tokyo.

Awards

Goldman Environmental Prize (2021)
BBC ”100 Women” (2022)
Business Insider “Climate Action 30” (2024)
Reuters “Traiblazing Women in Climate” (2024)
Climate Breakthrough Award (2024)

Selected publications

“Let’s Learn About Climate Change” (contributor) (2023)
“Climate Change and Politics: The Achievements and Challenges of Climate Policy Integration” (2021)
“Creating a Future without Nuclear Power and Global Warming” (editor) (2012)