David Victor

David Victor is a professor of international relations at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego.  He is a director of the Laboratory on International Law and Regulation (ILAR) and is the Center for Global Transformation Endowed Chair in Innovation and Public Policy. Victor is also the Co-director of the campus-wide Deep Decarbonization Initiative, which focuses on real world strategies for bringing the world to nearly zero emissions of warming gases. Victor is also an adjunct professor in Climate, Atmospheric Science & Physical Oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Prior to joining the faculty at UC San Diego, Victor was a professor at Stanford Law School where he taught energy and environmental law. 

His research focuses on regulated industries and how regulation affects the operation of major energy markets. Much of his research is at the intersection of climate change science and policy. Victor authored "Global Warming Gridlock," which explains why the world hasn't made much diplomatic progress on the problem of climate change while also exploring new strategies that would be more effective. The book was recognized by The Economist as one of the best books of 2011.

Victor was a convening lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations-sanctioned international body with 195 country members that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.  Victor has been tapped by Southern California Edison to lead the company’s Community Engagement Panel for decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. According to utility officials, he was chosen to lead the panel because he has the vision, leadership and experience to bring together a diverse group of concerned people. Victor, in 2016, was appointed to Co-Chair, The Brookings Institution, Initiative on Energy and Climate. He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Energy, where his work focuses on the role of natural gas as a transition fuel to deep decarbonization as well as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2020, Victor was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the one of the oldest and most esteemed honorary societies in the nation.

At UC San Diego, Victor and the ILAR research team look at how international agreements function and why some agreements are much more effective than others.  ILAR’s research looks at all major areas of international cooperation, including environment, human rights, trade and investment.   The lab also conducts experimental research to investigate how humans make the complex decisions that are typical of designing and implementing international agreements. 

For more information, please visit David Victor's personal site.

Education

Ph.D., Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1997
A.B., History and Science, Harvard University, 1987

GPS Spotlight

California Cities Top List of New Report Ranking U.S. Climate Action Plans
Oct. 22, 2020 | Despite achievements, most cities need to cut emissions by 64% to reach their respective goals

When Will We End Global Warming?
Nov. 21, 2019│At the intersection of science, technology and policy, UC San Diego’s David G. Victor offers answers

Switching to a Home Battery Won’t Help Save the World from Climate Change
Dec. 6, 2018│At least until utilities charge less for energy coming from renewable power sources

Battery storage at the center of energy policy
Jan. 3, 2018│GPS students look at battery storage options in Florida in a study designed to solve real-world problems

Voicing an environmental policy outlook under Trump
March 14, 2017│Professor David Victor pares into five points how the election jolted parts of the nation and, in turn, generated apprehensions in the scientific community

"Global Warming Gridlock"
David G. Victor (UC San Diego)
Cambridge University Press (2011)