Scott M. Moore
Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Scott Moore is Practice Professor of Political Science, Director of China Programs and Strategic Initiatives, and Senior Advisor to The Water Center at Penn at the University of Pennsylvania. His primary research interests center on China, climate change, and security. Other research and teaching interests include water security and China’s role in the biotechnology sector. Dr. Moore’s first book, Subnational Hydropolitics: Conflict, Cooperation, and Institution-Building in Shared River Basins (Oxford University Press, 2018), examines how climate change and other pressures affect the likelihood of conflict over water within countries. His latest, China’s Next Act: How Sustainability and Technology are Reshaping China’s Rise and the World’s Future (Oxford University Press, 2022), explores China’s role in global public goods provision against the backdrop of geopolitical rivalry and competition. His current research and book project focuses on how the return of great power rivalry between major economies and emitters shapes prospects for climate action at the international level.
As Director of China Programs and Strategic Initiatives at Penn, Dr. Moore serves as principal advisor on international affairs and leads a team that develops strategic initiatives for university leadership. Dr. Moore directs four Global Research Programs for China, India, Africa, and worldwide; Penn’s At-Risk Scholars Program, which supports academics and public intellectuals affected by war and conflict; and the Penn Global - Perry World House Policy Fellows Program, which aims to help train the next generation of climate policy leaders. Dr. Moore also leads Penn’s engagement with international institutions and in policy engagement activities, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP) process; the U.S. Department of State DiplomacyLab program; and the Convention on Biological Diversity COP.
Prior to joining Penn, Dr. Moore was a Young Professional and Water Resources Management Specialist at the World Bank Group, and Environment, Science, Technology, and Health Officer for China at the U.S. Department of State, where he worked extensively on the Paris Agreement on climate change. Before entering public service, Dr. Moore was Giorgio Ruffolo Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. He was also awarded the Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations Public Intellectuals Program fellowship, the Fulbright fellowship, and the Truman Scholarship.
Dr. Moore’s research and commentary on a wide range of environmental and international affairs issues has appeared in a range of leading scholarly journals and media outlets, including Nature, The China Quarterly, Foreign Affairs, and The New York Times. Dr. Moore holds doctoral and master’s degrees from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and an undergraduate degree from Princeton.