Barbara Freese

"In the mid-1990s, I found myself litigating the science of climate change against coal industry witnesses who argued it was nothing to worry about.  I was an environmental attorney for the state of Minnesota who had always been fascinated by how humanity confronts its mega-problems. I quickly realized that climate change was the mega-problem that would define our era and my own career.  Since then I’ve worked in various ways to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, accelerate the transition to clean energy, and promote science-based decision-making.  I’m delighted to be working with MCEA on all these fronts."

Barbara earned a J.D. in 1986 from New York University School of Law (where she was a Root-Tilden scholar) and a B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1982.  She spent a dozen years working in the Environmental Protection Division of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, mostly focusing on air quality.  Later, she represented a variety of nonprofit clients, working to promote climate protection policies and oppose coal plants, and spent three years as a coal policy analyst/advocate with the Union of Concerned Scientists.  She has also written two books, Coal: A Human History (2003) and Industrial-Strength Denial: Eight Stories of Corporations Defending the Indefensible, from the Slave Trade to Climate Change (2020).