Karen O’Brien is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Human Geography at the University of Oslo, Norway. Karen’s current research focuses on the relationships between climate change adaptation and transformations to sustainability. The AdaptationCONNECTS project explores the conditions, approaches and paradigms that support individual and collective agency, focusing on the role of creativity, collaboration, empowerment, and narratives. Other research has focused on links between environmental change and globalization, the implications of climate change for human security, and the values and visions of youth related to the future in a changing climate.

She has participated in four IPCC reports and was on the Future Earth Transition Team and Science Committee from 2012-2017, and is engaged with the Transformations Knowledge Action Network. She has published and edited numerous books, including “The Adaptive Challenge of Climate Change.” She is co-founder of cCHANGE.no, an initiative that supports transformation in a changing climate.