Chris Spence journalist

Chris Spence is a British/New Zealand author, journalist, and advisor on climate change and environmental issues. Born in 1970 in Wakefield, England, he was raised in Bingley before moving to New Zealand at age 12. He attended Wellington College and Victoria University of Wellington, earning BA and MA degrees in political science and history.

Spence's career began in the 1990s as a political researcher for New Zealand's Labour Party. He later worked as a journalist and executive director of the New Zealand Drug Foundation. In 1998, he moved to New York, focusing on international diplomacy at the United Nations, where he consulted for organizations like the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the UNDP. By 2012, he became IISD's deputy director of Earth Negotiations Bulletin.

That year, Spence joined the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy in San Francisco as Executive Vice President until 2018. He has authored several books, including *Global Warming: Personal Solutions for a Healthy Planet* (2005), which critiques Bush Administration climate policies, and co-authored *Heroes of Environmental Diplomacy* (2022). His novel *Rock Happy* was published in 2021.

Currently residing in Dublin since 2020, Spence continues his work as a writer and environmental consultant while maintaining strong ties to New Zealand through family visits.