Dr. Rocio A Diaz-Chavez is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Environmental Policy of Imperial College London. Her research interests include bioeconomy, bioenergy, land use and natural resources, socio-economic assessment and governance, and climate change impacts.
Dr. Rocio A Diaz-Chavez holds a BSc in Biology/Ecology in Mexico and a PhD on Sustainable Development Indicators from the University of Wales Aberystwyth in the UK. She joined the Centre for Environmental Policy of Imperial College London in 2004 and she is currently a Senior Research Fellow. She acted as Deputy Director and Energy and Climate Change Programme Leader at the Stockholm Environment Institute Africa Centre from2017 to 2022. Among other projects she co-coordinated the project “Bioenergy Strategy for East Africa” (BISEA).
Her research interests include sustainability assessment and deployment of bioeconomy, bioenergy, land use and natural resources, socio-economic assessment and governance, and climate change impacts.
Dr. Diaz-Chavez has extensive experience managing and coordinating research and implementation projects. She has worked in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America. She is amember of the Advisory Board of the World Bioeconomy Forum and is the Bioecology Vision Chair of the World Bioeconomy Association. She developed indicators for the Global Bioenergy Partnership from FAO. She acted as Chair of the Social Group of the Bioenergy Standard for ISO. She was the Chair of the International Energy Agency for the UK Task 40(Biomass trading) 2012-2017. She has worked as a consultant for UNDP, IADB, WB, the EC and the private sector. She received the SCOPE 2010 Young Scientist Award in Environmental Management for her work on indicators and standards.
Dr. Diaz-Chavez joined the Panel in May 2025 for a 1-year engagement period, before being considered for full membership by May 2026 (as per IRP standard procedures).