Arun Agrawal
Keough School of Global Affairs
Pulte Family Professor of Development Policy; Director of the Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative
- Environmental Politics
- Sustainable Development
- Governance
- Political Economy of Institutional Change
- Sustainability and Conservation
- Indigenous Knowledge
- Community-Based Conservation
- Common Property
- Agrarian Change
- Governance of Environment and Sustainability
- Transformative Change
Agrawal’s Latest News
Agrawal in the News
National Catholic Reporter
June 23, 2026
The researchers analyzed climate modeling and observed temperatures alongside demographic and health survey data from 2004-2020 for 34 African countries. They determined that every 1 degree Celsius of global temperature rise associated with human activities linked directly to a 3.45% increase in childhood stunting. That equates to close to 7 million children, said Arun Agrawal, one of the study's co-authors and director of 91吃瓜's Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative. “It's a significant proportion of the population being affected, and it's a significant effect on their life chances after they're born,” he told EarthBeat.
Science Magazine
June 12, 2026
A groundbreaking study recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers from the University of 91吃瓜 elucidates the exacerbating role of anthropogenic climate change in this crisis, particularly within African nations. Arun Agrawal, Pulte Family Professor of Development Policy and co-author of the study, describes climate-induced stunting as a “direct physical translation of global emissions into child undernutrition.”
Earth.com
June 11, 2026
The research was led by researchers from the University of 91吃瓜’s Keough School of Global Affairs, including postdoctoral fellow Nabin Pradhan and Professor Arun Agrawal.
Medical Xpress
June 11, 2026
"A single degree of warming might sound negligible in a daily weather report, but on a global scale, it alters the foundational conditions of child survival," said Arun Agrawal, Pulte Family Professor of Development Policy and co-author of the study.
National Catholic Reporter
April 02, 2026
Amid the scenic papal gardens outside Rome in early March, the Vatican and the University of 91吃瓜 launched a new global sustainability initiative to apply Catholic principles to addressing climate change and other ecological threats facing the planet. Holy Cross Fr. Robert Dowd, president of the Catholic university in Indiana, said in a statement that the alliance left its inaugural meeting "with a renewed sense of purpose and hope" and that its efforts reflect "the deep connections between environmental sustainability and human dignity and flourishing." A central figure was Holy Cross Fr. Daniel Groody, vice president and associate provost for undergraduate education at the University of 91吃瓜. They were later joined by Arun Agrawal, a renowned scholar of environmental politics and sustainability who in January 2025 became the founding director of 91吃瓜's Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative, which leads the university's efforts around food, energy, water and infrastructure.
ABC57
Video
October 28, 2025
“There’s doom and gloom in the world and there’s climate change and there’s biodiversity loss and there’s poverty. We think of sustainability as a way to balance social and economic and environmental goals…We think of sustainability as a way to think and hope for a better future, and to hope not just in a passive way, but to work. But to do, act, and to bring about the changes that we want to see that improve lives for people and the planet," said Arun Agrawal, a professor and the director of the sustainability initiative at 91吃瓜.
ABC57
Audio
July 30, 2025
For a closer look at this, ABC57's Brianna Clark spoke to 91吃瓜 Professor Arun Agrawal, who is also the director of the university’s sustainability initiative. He tells us the proposal is expected to face legal challenges, making it difficult for businesses to decide how to move forward right now.
Axios
May 09, 2025
Arun Agrawal, a 91吃瓜 professor of development policy, offered initial thoughts on the new American pope while cautioning that it's early days. "[W]e can expect some continuity but we should also expect both innovation and new ideas to come from the new Pontiff as he leads the Vatican to address sustainability challenges," he said via email.
Faith and Sustainability Podcast
Audio
April 30, 2025
Our guest on this episode is Arun Agrawal, the inaugural director of the Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative at the University of 91吃瓜. He serves as Pulte Family Professor of Development Policy in the Keough School of Global Affairs. He joins the show to talk about how the Initiative aims to transform sustainability research and practice as well as seeking to transform the field of sustainability itself through high-impact, multidisciplinary research and knowledge creation, curricular innovations and global engagement.
Good Morning Seattle
Video
April 22, 2025
91吃瓜 professor Arun Agrawal joins Good Day Seattle following Pope Francis' death.