Academic Publications

Books

2027 The Longest Night: Coming Home in the Age of Apocalypse. Atria Books (Simon & Schuster), forthcoming.

2029 (anticipated) The Maps Are Not the Territory: Field Notes on Climate and Crisis. Contract under negotiation.

Manuscripts Under Review

2026 Lezak, S. “When Climate Change Isn’t a Hyperobject.” Under review at Annals of the American Association of Geographers.

2026 Lezak, S. “Dynamic Territory and the Politics of Belonging.” Revised manuscript under review at Territory, Politics, Governance.

2026 Taylor-Burns, R., Shortt, R., Richardson, C. M., … Lezak, S., Oikawa, P., Zilberman, D., and Haya, B. K. “Offsets or Contributions? Two Finance Streams for Carbon Sequestration in California.” Under review at Earth’s Future.

Peer Reviewed Articles

2026 Lezak, S., Zaman, S. T., Johnstone, I., and Haya, B. “UNFCCC Carbon Trading Could Undermine Global Climate Action.” Nature Climate Change 16: 8–9.

2025 Romm, J., Lezak, S., and Alshamsi, A. “Are Carbon Offsets Fixable?” Annual Review of Environment and Resources 50: 649–680.

2025 Blanchard, L., Lezak, S., and Anderegg, W. “Update Corporate Climate Standards to Increase Rigor and Ambition.” One Earth 8(6): 101312.

2025 Johnstone, I., Allen, M., Axelsson, K., … Lezak, S., Smith, A., Smith, S. M., and Wagner, A. “The Revised Oxford Principles for Net Zero Aligned Carbon Offsetting.” Environmental Research Letters 20(9): 091005.

2024 Lezak, S., and Rock, G. “On Micropolitics: Climate Adaptation and Indigenous Governance in Western Alaska.” Climatic Change 177: 135.

2024 Lezak, S. “From Capacity Building to Capacity Sharing.” Nature Sustainability 7: 1–3.

2023 Lezak, S. “Environmental Ethnography.” Progress in Environmental Geography 2(4): 289–308.

2023 Lezak, S., Wilson, C., Ansar, A., and Bazilian, M. “The Case Against Gold Mining.” Environmental Research Letters 18(1): 011001.

2019 Lezak, S., Ahearn, A., McConnell, F., and Sternberg, T. “Frameworks for Conflict Mediation in International Infrastructure Development: A Comparative Overview and Critical Appraisal.” Journal of Cleaner Production 239: 118099.

2019 Lezak, S. “Re-Placing the Desert in the Conservation Landscape: Charisma and Absence in the Gobi Desert.” Land 8(1): 3.

2016 Lezak, S. B., and Thibodeau, P. H. “Systems Thinking and Environmental Concern.” Journal of Environmental Psychology 46: 143–153.

Book Chapters

2022 Lezak, S., and Munkherdene, G. “After Life-of-Mine: Rethinking Mine Closure.” In The Impact of Mining Lifecycles in Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan: Political, Social, Environmental and Cultural Contexts, edited by T. Sternberg, K. Toktomushev, and B. Ichinkhorloo. London: Routledge.

2019 Lezak, S. “Re-Placing the Desert in the Conservation Landscape: Charisma and Absence in the Gobi Desert.” In Arid Land Systems: Science and Societies, edited by A. Ahearn and T. Sternberg, 53–64. Basel: MDPI.

Reports and Other Research Publications

2026 Ansar, A., Lezak, S., and Wolf, G. The Great AI Infrastructure Buildout: Impact on Power and Commodity Markets. White paper, Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment and Marex.

2025 Haya, B., and Lezak, S. California Sends Millions of Dollars Out of State for Carbon Offsets of Dubious Quality. Policy brief, Berkeley Carbon Trading Project, University of California, Berkeley.

2025 Carleton, E., Lezak, S., and Haya, B. DEBS in Name Only: Another Way California’s Offset Rule Misses the Mark. Policy brief, Berkeley Carbon Trading Project, University of California, Berkeley.

2025 Johnstone, I., Schneider, L., Michaelowa, A., … Lezak, S., … Hepburn, C. Oxford Principles for Responsible Engagement with Article 6. Oxford: Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford.

2024 Lezak, S., Axelsson, K., and Blanchard, L. Joint Commentary on SBTi’s Discussion Paper: Aligning Corporate Value Chains to Global Climate Goals. Berkeley Carbon Trading Project.

2024 Haya, B., … Lezak, S. Joint Commentary on SBTi’s Discussion Paper: Aligning Corporate Value Chains to Global Climate Goals. Berkeley Carbon Trading Project.

2024 Axelsson, K., … Lezak, S., et al. Revised Oxford Offsetting Principles. Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment.

2023 Lezak, S., Guido, V., and Natali, P. “Commodities Markets Are Broken. Responsible Supply Chains Can Fix Them.” MIT Sloan Management Review.

2021 Cullen, K., Axelsson, K., Lezak, S., Hale, T., Lang, J., and Smith, S. “Leveling Up Net-Zero Climate Leadership in the United States.” Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment Working Paper 21-01.

2021 Axelsson, K., … Lezak, S., et al. “Sensitive Intervention Points for Achieving Climate Neutrality.” Summary report for the Climate Neutrality Forum; presented at COP26, Glasgow.

2020 Lezak, S. “Review: Transnational Law and State Formation.” Journal of Nomadic Peoples 24(1): 171–174.

2019 Lezak, S., Cannon, C., and Koch Blank, T. Low-Carbon Metals for a Low-Carbon World: A New Energy Paradigm for Mines. Rocky Mountain Institute.

2019 Lezak, S. “Review: Mongolia Remade.” Journal of Nomadic Peoples 23(1): 149–154.

2018 Ahearn, A., and Lezak, S. “The Mongolian Ger.” In House Tour: Views of the Unfurnished Interior, edited by A. Jasper. Zurich: Park Books.

Selected Public Writing

2026 Lezak, S. “MAGA Elites Are Indoor Cats.” The New York Times.

2025 Lezak, S. “Bill Gates Has a Point.” The New York Times.

2025 Haya, B., and Lezak, S. “We Just Found Millions in Waste in California’s Cap-and-Trade Program. Here’s the Fix.” San Francisco Chronicle.

2025 Lezak, S. “Why the US Is Letting China Win on Energy Innovation.” The Conversation.

2025 Lezak, S. “American Towns Are at Risk of Tumbling Into the Ocean.” The New York Times.

2024 Lezak, S. “This Dirty Industry Is Better Off Operating in America.” The New York Times.

2024 Lezak, S. “Scientists Just Gave Humanity an Overdue Reality Check.” The New York Times.

2024 Lezak, S. “What the Cobalt Industry Can Learn From Coffee Producers.” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

2023 Lezak, S. “The Arctic Is Becoming One Giant Construction Site.” The New Republic.

2023 Lezak, S. “Climate Fraud on America’s Last Frontier.” The New Republic.

2022 Lezak, S. “Giving Up on 1.5 Degrees Celsius Is a Luxury for the Rich.” The New Republic.

2021 Lezak, S. “All My Relations: Wild Horses, Buffalo, and the Politics of Belonging.” High Country News.

2021 Lezak, S. “Meltwater: A Timepiece for the Arctic.” Emergence Magazine.

2021 Lezak, S. “Carbon Markets Are Terrible—But We Need Them.” The New Republic.