Grace Mbungu

Dr. Grace Mbungu is a Senior Fellow on Adaptation at the Africa-Europe Foundation and serves as an Adviser on Just Energy Transformation in Africa at Bread for the World. Previously, she was a Senior Fellow and Head of the Climate Change Program at the Africa Policy Research Institute (APRI).

Before joining APRI, Dr. Mbungu was a fellow and research associate at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), now RIFs, in Potsdam, Germany, where she worked on topics such as the politics and governance of the global energy transition, social performance of energy and climate actions, and opportunities of renewable energy development with a focus on the Global South. She was also part of the IASS 2022 Focal Topic “Justice in Sustainability” coordination team.

Having lived, studied, and worked on three continents, Dr. Mbungu deeply appreciates the uniqueness of energy and climate change challenges and opportunities across geographies and the all-important role of local context and international collaborations in developing energy systems and climate change solutions that are fit for purpose. She has written extensively on the topics of energy, climate change, justice, gender, and development.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Gender Studies and a Master’s degree in Public Administration, with a focus on human rights and international development from Bowling Green State University (Ohio, USA). She holds a Doctorate from the University of Stuttgart, Germany.