Sieren Ernst is the CEO and co-founder of the Climate Cost Project. She oversees the Impact Census, and the Climate Cost Project’s overall growth and strategic direction.

 

Prior to founding the Climate Cost Project, Sieren worked in the commercial sector helping businesses and other organizations mitigate their carbon pollution. She focused on emissions trading systems, mitigation investments, and project management in China, Europe, and the United States. She has also worked on the policy side of carbon pricing as an advisor to small companies, NGOs, and governments seeking to understand the impacts of environmental policy and climate change on their organizations. Sieren’s opinions on climate policy have been featured in the Energy Collective and China US Focus. She has degrees from Northwestern University in economics and history, and speaks Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.  

 

Through her previous work, it became obvious to Sieren that the domestic dialogue on climate change and current mitigation and adaption measures were all hampered by a lack of information and awareness about how our daily lives are already affected. Her desire to address this gap motivated her interest in co-founding the Climate Cost Project.

 

The synthesis of data and storytelling is an important part of Sieren’s vision for the project.  She believes that while scientific and economic data are critical, it is the straightforward accounts of individuals about their own experiences that will bring deeper public understanding and insight into the environmental transformation that marks our time.