Adam Markham, Director

Adam is an internationally respected thought leader and expert on climate impacts and solutions. He is a leading voice for the inclusion of cultural heritage in national and international climate policy, and an expert on understanding and managing the climate vulnerability of natural and cultural heritage sites, including World Heritage properties.

An experienced non-profit leader, Adam is a former Deputy Director for Climate and Energy at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and former Director of the climate team at WWF International. He was also the founding director of New England climate solutions organization Clean Air-Cool Planet. Most recently he conceived and developed a multidisciplinary project to ethically integrate Western science with Indigenous Knowledge to support climate justice and resilience strategies.

Adam has written and published widely on climate change threats to biodiversity conservation and cultural heritage. He is an advisor to National Geographic’s Preserving Legacies project, a member of ICOMOS’ Climate Action Working Group, the International Committee for Archaeological Heritage Management (ICAHM), and IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas. He is also on the steering group of the international Climate Heritage Network. He has a BSc in Zoology, an MLitt. in Archaeological Studies and is a post-graduate researcher working towards a Ph.D at the Archaeology Institute of the University of the Highlands and Islands. Adam is an elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.