Sofia Kabbej

Sofia Kabbej is an independent researcher affiliated with IRIS as part of the Climate, Environment and Security Programme. Her work focuses on the geopolitical and security implications of climate change and climate modification technologies. She provides analysis and policy recommendations to French public institutions, notably through her contributions to the Defence and Climate Observatory coordinated by IRIS and initiated by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces.

She holds a PhD from the University of Queensland (Australia). Her thesis, co-supervised by Matt McDonald and Roland Bleiker, focused on France’s engagement with climate change as a security issue. It examined the main characteristics of this engagement, its evolution over time, and the political factors influencing it.

Sofia also currently coordinates the Climate Security & Peace Project (CS2P) at the NGO CliMates, after serving as Advocacy Co-Director from 2018 to 2019.

Previously, she worked as a researcher at IRIS’s Climate, Energy, and Security Program (2020-2022), specializing in the security dimensions of climate change. She has also contributed to projects on climate governance, international climate negotiations, green economy, and sustainable development within organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Danone, and the NGO CliMates.

Sofia Kabbej holds a master’s degree in international security policies from the European School of Political & Social Sciences (ESPOL – Catholic University of Lille), a master’s in international relations from ESPOL, and a bachelor’s degree in political science and communication from the University of Montreal.