Bio

I am a Montrealer currently pursuing a JD-PhD in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources and the Law School, where I am a Knight-Hennessy Scholar and a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholar. (I completed my JD in 2023.) I am broadly interested in the ways in which climate change science, policy, law, and advocacy interact and intersect.

Education & Certifications

  • Master of Environmental Science, Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (2018)
  • Bachelor of Arts, Dartmouth College, Triple Major in Biology (Concentration Ecology), Environmental Studies, Senior Fellowship; Minor in Public Policy (2016)

Contact

  • Academic
    University - Student Department: Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources Position: Graduate
    University - Student Department: Law School Position: Graduate, Law

Additional Info

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

Leehi studies greenhouse gas inventories and how governments and corporations use (or misuse) scientific knowledge in climate law and policy. She is particularly interested in how these actors account for their greenhouse gas emissions and in the gaps between scientifically measured and politically accounted-for emissions.

All Publications

  • Make greenhouse-gas accounting reliable - build interoperable systems Comment NATURE Luers, A., Yona, L., Field, C. B., Jackson, R. B., Mach, K. J., Cashore, B. W., Elliott, C., Gifford, L., Honigsberg, C., Klaassen, L., Matthews, H., Peng, A., Stoll, C., Van Pelt, M., Virginia, R. A., Joppa, L. 2022; 607 (7920): 653-656

    View details for DOI 10.1038/d41586-022-02033-y

    View details for Web of Science ID 000830730300015

    View details for PubMedID 35882990

  • Factors influencing the development and implementation of national greenhouse gas inventory methodologies POLICY DESIGN AND PRACTICE Yona, L., Cashore, B., Bradford, M. A. 2022

    View details for DOI 10.1080/25741292.2021.2020967

    View details for Web of Science ID 000739154900001

  • Carbon analytics for net-zero emissions sustainable cities NATURE SUSTAINABILITY Ramaswami, A., Tong, K., Canadell, J. G., Jackson, R. B., Stokes, E., Dhakal, S., Finch, M., Jittrapirom, P., Singh, N., Yamagata, Y., Yewdall, E., Yona, L., Seto, K. C. 2021

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41893-021-00715-5

    View details for Web of Science ID 000650194200002

  • Applying a leverage points framework to the United Nations climate negotiations: The (dis)empowerment of youth participants ELEMENTA-SCIENCE OF THE ANTHROPOCENE Yona, L., Dixon, M. D., Howarth, R. B., Kapuscinski, A. R., Virginia, R. A. 2020; 8

    View details for DOI 10.1525/elementa.433

    View details for Web of Science ID 000554859800001

  • Refining national greenhouse gas inventories. Ambio Yona, L., Cashore, B., Jackson, R. B., Ometto, J., Bradford, M. A. 2020

    Abstract

    The importance of greenhouse gas inventories cannot be overstated: the process of producing inventories informs strategies that governments will use to meet emissions reduction targets. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) leads an effort to develop and refine internationally agreed upon methodologies for calculating and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and removals. We argue that these guidelines are not equipped to handle the task of developing national greenhouse gas inventories for most countries. Inventory guidelines are vital to implementing climate action, and we highlight opportunities to improve their timeliness and accuracy. Such reforms should provide the means to better understand and advance the progress countries are making toward their Paris commitments. Now is the time to consider challenges posed by the current process to develop the guidelines, and to avail the policy community of recent major advances in quantitative and expert synthesis to overhaul the process and thereby better equip multi-national efforts to limit climate change.

    View details for DOI 10.1007/s13280-019-01312-9

    View details for PubMedID 31981086

  • Integrating policy and ecology systems to achieve path dependent climate solutions ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY Yona, L., Cashore, B., Schmitz, O. J. 2019; 98: 54–60

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.envsci.2019.03.013

    View details for Web of Science ID 000471088100007

  • A scientist and an advocate. Science (New York, N.Y.) Yona, L. 2019; 363 (6434): 1474

    View details for DOI 10.1126/science.363.6434.1474

    View details for PubMedID 30923226

  • A scientist and an advocate SCIENCE Yona, L. 2019; 363 (6434): 1474-+

    View details for DOI 10.1126/science.363.6434.1474

    View details for Web of Science ID 000462738000040

  • The Model Arctic Council: Simulated Negotiations as Pedagogy and Embodied Diplomacy AMERICAN REVIEW OF CANADIAN STUDIES Sarson, L., Muzik, V., Ray, B., Gambrell, G., Yona, L., Comeau, R. 2019; 49 (1): 105–22

    View details for DOI 10.1080/02722011.2019.1570955

    View details for Web of Science ID 000465441800008

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8362-7313