Alexis McGivern

About

Alexis McGivern is Head of Stakeholder Engagement at Oxford Net Zero, an interdisciplinary research group based at the University of Oxford. She works to translate academic research on net zero into guidance for corporations, civil society, policymakers and the standards community on credible climate action to reach net zero by 2050. She works to strengthen the integrity of net zero targets, including through addressing justice and equity concerns of net zero.

Alexis co-created and runs the Global Youth Climate Training Programme, a collaboration between Oxford and the Global Youth Coalition to train young climate activists on the tracks of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) negotiations ahead of COPs. This programme has received 10,000 applications two years in a row. She also co-chairs the Race to Zero Professional Services Providers Working Group, convening a diverse group of stakeholders to better define what 'high integrity net zero' looks like for professional services providers like law firms, consultancies and ad agencies.

Alexis previously completed a dual degree as a Pershing Square Scholar at the University of Oxford, undertaking an MPhil at the School of Geography and the Environment. Her MPhil looked at the politics of waste incineration and the communities who are resisting the installation of new incinerators in the UK. She also completed an MBA at the Saïd Business School to understand the language and motivations of businesses to create long-lasting change across the stakeholders needed to address the climate emergency.

She was co-founder of 26,000 Climate Conversations – an Oxford student-led initiative that sought to build support for climate action through interpersonal conversations in the lead up to the United Nations COP26 conference.

Outside of her work, she creates TikToks about climate change research to make academia more accessible at @climatemadecool. She has a background of community organising for refugee rights and asylum seeker integration in Switzerland, where she grew up, and also worked to support low-income households in Oxford during the COVID-19 pandemic through mutual aid work.

The Global Youth Climate Training Programme won the Environmental Sustainability Award, as part of the Vice-Chancellors Awards 2024, for furthering work to support the University’s Environmental Sustainability strategic goals and commitments. Read more at: Celebrating Excellence: Vice-Chancellor’s Awards Honour Outstanding Achievements in SoGE | School of Geography and the Environment