Christian Downie is a Professor in the School of Regulation and Global Governance at the Australian National University, where he is the Director of the Governing Energy Transition (GET) Lab. Christian has worked as an advisor to several Australian Government agencies, most recently as a Principal Advisor on secondment in the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water, and before that in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Christian holds a PhD in international relations and political science from the Australian National University, having graduated from the University of Sydney with first class honours in economics.

He has spent time teaching or researching at the University of Cambridge, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the London School of Economics and Political Science among others, and he has worked in policy think tanks in Canberra and Washington D.C. Christian is the author of more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters including publications in Regulation & Governance, Global Environmental Politics, Climatic Change, Review of International Political Economy, Review of International Studies, Energy Policy, Climate Policy, International Affairs, and Business & Politics. His latest book is Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment, which the Financial Times listed in the best environment books of 2025. Christian’s writing has also been published by the ABC, CNN, The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, and The Conversation, among others. He is frequently cited in the international and Australian media.