David Ciplet

David Ciplet is a sociologist focused on issues of globalization, environmental inequality, and climate justice. From the negotiating halls of the United Nations to community center meeting rooms, his research uses participatory qualitative methods to explore processes of social change in climate change and energy politics.

His book, with Timmons Roberts and Mizan Khan, Power in a Warming World: The New Global Politics of Climate Change and the Remaking of Environmental Inequality (MIT Press), explores how we arrived at an inequitable and scientifically inadequate international response to climate change, and what is needed to shift course. His research has been featured in journals such as Global Environmental Politics, Global Governance, and Social Movement Studies, and in media outlets including The New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, Bloomberg Businessweek, Reuters, Radio Australia, and The International Herald Tribune. His CV is listed here.

David is passionate about teaching and research that engages directly with community and policy organizations to work for social and political change. He works to create a classroom environment where students can engage critically and directly with real world problems. Prior to earning his Ph.D., he worked for NGOs on issues of waste, energy, and climate justice, and as a middle school teacher focused on experiential education. At CU, he teaches courses including Environmental Justice and Community Engagement; Waste and Global Justice; and Power, Justice and Climate Change. David is an avid trail runner, mountain biker, and backcountry skier, novice guitar player, grateful husband, and father of three amazing and energetic children.