Patricia Romero-Lankao

Professor Paty Romero-Lankao is a Canadian Excellence in Research Chair and leader of the Network for Equity in Sustainability Transitions (CERC NEST). Prior to coming to Canada, she bridged divides between the physical and social sciences as a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and later as distinguished research scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. She has developed comparative approaches to studying governance dynamics shaping unequal capacities to plan for and foster sustainability transitions. In her current work, Paty is striving to foster capacity among urban actors to promote equitable and sustainable change by connecting sociological perspectives with other ways of knowing. Paty is widely cited in her field. As of January 2025, her record included about 150 peer-reviewed publications. She was the co-leading author of Working Group II of the Nobel Prize-winning IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. She is leading the social and policy approaches to LA100 Equity Strategies. This high social impact project, which involves a community-informed analysis of equity strategies for Los Angeles, can shed light on other cities and states transitioning to 100% clean energy while also centring on justice and the needs of underrepresented populations.