Dr. Lawrence Agbemabiese is a sustainable development advocate and researcher, equipped with a PhD in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the University of Delaware (UD). In 2012, he joined the prestigious faculty of UD initially at the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, and additionally appointed to the faculty of the Energy and Environmental Policy Program. Since 2022, he has been working as a Senior Research Fellow at the Foundation for Renewable Energy and Environment (FREE).
Prior to his tenure at UD, Dr. Agbemabiese served for 11 years as a Senior Program Officer at the Energy and Climate Branch, UN Environment, in Paris, France. In this role, he spearheaded numerous national and global initiatives focused on entrepreneur-led clean energy and low-carbon development, honing his skills in climate change-related research, policy, and planning of practical solutions. His research interests span several disciplinary domains, including multi-level transitions, innovation systems mapping and integration, and factors influencing the adoption of cleaner energy in developing nations.
Dr. Agbemabiese is committed to accelerating societal transitions towards a sustainable future. He was a lead author of the Innovation, Technology Development and Transfer chapter of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report. With a solid track record of developing innovative policy and institutional solutions to climate-related issues, he stands out as a strong supporter of environmentally sound and socially equitable human progress. In team leadership roles, his transdisciplinary mindset often catalyzes consensus building around sustainability advocacy goals, objectives, and actions.
Driven by a keen interest in local development planning processes, Lawrence routinely navigates through multiple disciplinary domains, engaging with diverse stakeholders. Dr. Agbemabiese was an early adopter of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in the social sciences. He utilizes extant Large Language Models in research designs integrating concurrent, sequential, and transformative techniques, delivering evidence- based advisory services across diverse fields of participatory sustainability policy and planning.
By using numbers and compelling stories in his studies, Lawrence helps different groups make good decisions on issues at the nexus of technology, environment, and society relations.