Training · Key profession of ecological transition

Emerging Climate Leaders Fellowship

To create a community of committed clean energy and climate change leaders from emerging and developing countries, enriched by engagement with top Yale faculty and researchers

Emerging Climate Leaders Fellowship

Our Mission

The mission of the Emerging Climate Leaders Fellowship is to create a community of committed clean energy and climate change leaders from emerging and developing countries, enriched by engagement with top Yale faculty and researchers, and leading global authorities in the clean energy transition from the International Energy Agency and beyond.

Who are the Climate Fellows?

Sixteen young practitioners selected each year from multiple career tracks from across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America/Caribbean. Fellows share a common passion to become future leaders in the clean energy/climate change space, as they exchange findings and experiences with other like-minded professionals from across the Global South.

Yale Climate Fellows model diversity in terms of gender, country of origin, and professional background.

Yale Climate Fellows are drawn from a wide variety of professions, ranging from public servants to entrepreneurs, energy company professionals, financiers, journalists, educators, researchers, civil society representatives, legal advisers, and legislators.

Faculty and Partners

Fellows engage with prominent Yale faculty and a network of top practitioners to explore key issues in the global clean energy and climate change agenda.

Program Details

Yale Orientation Week | February 1-5, 2027

This five-month fellowship begins with a one-week, in-person orientation program at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, from February 1-5, 2027.

Fellows will engage in a series of interactive sessions with prominent Yale faculty and practitioners to set the terms of the global climate change debate.

Fellows will explore the wide range of climate change initiatives housed at Yale and delve into cutting-edge scholarship on a broad range of clean energy and climate issues.

Among the centers and institutions which may be featured in the orientation program are the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture, the Yale Open Lab, the Yale Center for Business and the Environment, the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, and the Yale Office of Sustainability, which manages the University’s net zero goal.

Remote Learning Journeys | March-June 2027

From March through June 2027, Climate Fellows will organize and carry out a series of interactive remote sessions with top international experts on the full range of policy issues associated with climate change and the clean energy transition. Sessions are spirited journeys allowing for development of communities of practice in specialties and extensive mentoring opportunities. The session usually take place on Wednesdays at 9:00 AM Eastern time.

Possible topics include:

strengthening global climate change governance, including the UN process
exploring decarbonization pathways, including the IEA Net Zero 2050 scenario
accelerating renewable electricity growth and addressing challenges of system integration
strengthening innovation and uptake of promising clean energy technologies
promoting energy efficiency and behavioral change
investigating the challenges of a people-centered clean energy transition
developing and deepening financial vehicles to advance the clean energy transition
exploring market-based climate policy tools, including carbon pricing
exploring regulatory policy tools to support uptake of clean energy solutions
improving climate change communication
closing energy access gaps with clean energy technologies
developing cost effective negative emissions technologies, including direct air capture
exploring the role of nature-based climate solutions
broadening and deepening corporate and investor initiatives on climate change
tackling energy security issues, including the role of fossil fuels in the energy transition
exploring supply chain and related geopolitical challenges of the clean energy transition
analyzing challenges of reducing methane emissions in emerging and developing countries

Paris Closing Week | June 14-18, 2027

The fellowship concludes with an in-person week in Paris, from June 14–18, 2027.

Fellows will meet with top international climate change analysts; share perspectives gleaned throughout the program; and consolidate professional and personal contacts developed through peer learning and exchanges of views.

Fellows will have networking opportunities with staff members from the International Energy Agency and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), French central government and municipal officials, and representatives of civil society organizations, think tanks, academia, and the private sector.

Fellows will also present policy recommendations on specific clean energy and climate-related challenges to a global advisory board, publish those findings, and maintain contacts through an alumni network.