James Cameron

His career links law, policy, finance, and innovation across civil society, government, academia, and business.

James serves on boards and advisory committees across financial, legal, academic, and governmental organisations. His roles include Alturki, Arden Climate, Ignite Power in Africa, Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT), Orbital-Energy, PCA (Professional Cricketers’ Association, United Kingdom), Pollination Group, Smart Surfaces Coalition (European Advisory Board Chair), Sun New Energy, Worthwhile Capital, Verv and the Overseas Development Institute (Chairman 2012–2020).

Until 2015, James was Chairman of Climate Change Capital (CCC), which he co-founded in 2003 and developed into an investment bank employing 150 people with USD 1.6 billion under management. For this work, he was named Leader of the Year at the BusinessGreen Leaders Awards. Prior to CCC, he was Counsel at Baker & McKenzie, where he founded and led the firm’s Climate Change and Clean Energy Practice. He also co-founded the environmental law NGOs FIELD (Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development) and CIEL (Centre for International Environmental Law).

James is a Friend of COP26 and has advised the Presidencies of COP20, COP22, COP23 and COP28. His public roles also include serving as a Trustee Member of the UK Green Building Council, Member of the Green Investment Bank Commission, and as a London Sustainable Development Commissioner, advising both Boris Johnson and Sadiq Khan.

He holds academic appointments and fellowships at Cambridge, the Colorado School of Mines, Oxford, Yale and the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London. He is an Executive Fellow at Yale University, where he is associated with the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy.