In the six-month appointment, Hultman will serve as a key adviser to the State Department in the lead up to the UN Climate Conference (COP29) in November
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Center for Global Sustainability (CGS) at the University of Maryland announced today that Nate Hultman, the Center’s founder and director, will join the U.S. State Department as Distinguished Senior Advisor for Climate Ambition, a six-month role that will conclude in January 2025. Hultman has led CGS in pioneering a collaborative, quantitative approach to climate research, assessing national and global climate strategies. That approach equips decision-makers with analytically informed insights that support the creation of better policies toward enhanced climate action, resilience, and emissions reductions. Hultman will bring that rigorous approach to climate research and thoughtful policy engagement to help the Biden Administration and the United States drive global climate goals.
The world is now entering a period where countries are called on by the Paris Agreement process to enhance their climate action and offer new national climate targets within their nationally determined contributions (NDCs). In this new role, Hultman will support U.S. engagement with other countries throughout this process. In addition, Hultman will assist in the formation of COP29-related policies for this year’s UN climate conference and in the preparations for next year’s COP30 in Brazil.
Hultman possesses a wealth of experience in the government and research communities. Previously, he worked as Senior Advisor in the Office of Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry from 2021–2022. In that role, Hultman helped negotiate the U.S.-China Joint Glasgow Declaration at COP26 and led the writing of the U.S. Long-Term Strategy report, a key deliverable to the Paris Agreement. He served on the Obama Administration’s climate and energy policy team from 2014–2016, where he helped shape the U.S. 2025 NDC, supported bilateral agreements with other global economies, and participated in the Paris Agreement negotiations. In addition to founding and leading CGS and developing its climate research portfolio, Hultman is a tenured full professor at the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland.
“Our work at CGS has clearly demonstrated that the world now has the opportunity to accelerate climate actions at every level of government and all parts of society. Such actions can deliver enhanced economic growth, better jobs, cleaner air, and broadly shared benefits while leaving no one behind. Collaboration across our government, between our country and others, and with other organizations and communities around the world will be key to reaching those goals,” Hultman said. “I’m confident we can set a new standard for international cooperation on climate. I’m honored to be part of that team.”
“With a laser-focus on policies that cut emissions, Nate has laid the foundation for success here at CGS,” said Ryna Cui, Research Director and Associate Research Professor at CGS. “He will bring those valuable insights to U.S. and international efforts to generate rapid decarbonization solutions. On behalf of CGS and the University of Maryland, we look forward to seeing his achievements in this new role.”
Hultman will return to the university in early 2025. During his leave from CGS, Professor Cui will serve as interim director. Cui is an expert in global coal phaseout, integrated assessment modeling, national strategies, and intergovernmental climate cooperation. Her research is centered around economy-wide energy transition pathways, fossil phaseout strategies and societal implications, including shifting away from coal on a plant-by-plant basis, and all-society climate action. Cui’s research considers the socioeconomic factors at play in the global energy transition, a principle that shapes realistic policy pathways within CGS’s work. ____________________________________________________________________________
About CGS
Through world-leading research and policy engagement, the Center for Global Sustainability (CGS) at the University of Maryland seeks to change the way governments, businesses, and people envision and implement ambitious climate action. With rapidly changing politics, technologies, and knowledge of the global climate challenge, we develop and apply diverse research approaches that address shared climate, energy, and sustainability goals.
CGS and its programs advance understanding of ambitious global and national climate strategies, including energy transition, societal benefits, non-CO2 gasses, climate finance, and other priorities in diverse country contexts. Our country programs focus on climate policies in the United States, China, Indonesia, India, and Brazil, with additional projects and expertise in other major world economies and at the subnational level as well. CGS supports more than 50 researchers, working with a robust community of collaborators around the world. Along with supporting current policy decision makers, we also educate future climate researchers and policy leaders by supporting undergraduate, masters, and Ph.D.students at the University of Maryland, as well as early-career scholars through our post-grad programs.
For more information on CGS and its work, go to cgs.umd.edu.
