Winner of the SCIENCE PhD Award
Kirstine Lund Christiansen's PhD dissertation stands out for its academic excellence and significant societal impact, offering groundbreaking insights into post-Paris climate governance and the growing influence of non-state actors.
We are super proud to announce that Kirstine Lund Christiansen has been awarded the SCIENCE PhD Award 2025 for her outstanding thesis, “Legitimising Voluntary and Market-based Climate Action: Corporate Narratives, Nature-based Offsetting and the Greening of Capitalism.”
Her research, completed at the Department of Food and Resource Economics, stands out for its academic excellence and significant societal impact.
“I’m very honored and humbled and wish to thank both IFRO for nominating me and the faculty’s research committee for awarding me the prize. As a social scientist at the faculty, I am grateful for the recognition of my work and inspired to continue contributing to diverse research approaches”, Kirstine says when asked about her reaction to the award.
Kirstine’s work offers groundbreaking insights into post-Paris climate governance and the growing influence of non-state actors.
Through theoretical depth and public engagement, she critically examines the risks of market-based climate strategies and explores how offsetting narratives and digital verification are reshaping expectations for land and nature.
Her research exemplifies high-impact, critically engaged scholarship at a pivotal moment in global climate policy.
Her PhD project was written in connection with the research project “The (re-)production of green imaginaries through Natural Climate Solutions,” funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark and led by Jens Friis Lund.
“It has been a privilege to work with Kirstine over these past years. Not only has she done outstanding research, but she has also prioritized the social environment in the office and communicating her research to a broader audience”, says Jens Friis Lund.
When asked about her experience being a PhD student at the Faculty of SCIENCE, Kirstine explains:
“Having the opportunity to write a PhD is, to me, one of the most privileged positions one can be in and I have enjoyed nearly every day of immersing myself in a topic I am so fascinated by. Writing a PhD at IFRO has meant doing this within a community of support and critical exchange among wonderful colleagues.”
Beyond working on her PhD, Kirstine was part of forming the The Green Network for Researchers (Det Grønne Forskernetværk) in 2022. The intention of the network is to bring together researchers across disciplines and institutions who wish to promote just and ambitious climate and sustainability solutions in Denmark. The network counts more than 300 members.
Kirstine’s interdisciplinary background spans political science, sustainability science, and environmental studies, with degrees from Lund University (MSc in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science) and the University of Copenhagen (BSc in Political Science).
Kirstine’s research focuses on the voluntary carbon market, carbon dioxide removal, and the evolving role of nature-based solutions in climate mitigation.
She draws on traditions from science and technology studies, critical political economy, and political ecology, and has contributed to both academic and public debates on climate policy.
Congratulations, Kirstine, on this very well-deserved recognition!