DrAnna Freeman

Dr Anna Freeman is an environmental scientist whose work spans climate and nature-related risks, water quality, and the translation of robust analysis into policy and investment decisions. Over more than fifteen years in academia and applied research, she has helped governments, United Nations organisations and financial institutions to see risk clearly and act with confidence—prioritising rigorous methods, transparent uncertainty treatment, and decision-ready outputs.

Her Doctor of Philosophy research examined aquatic ecology and river responses to climate and pollution, developed in collaboration with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH). Building on that foundation, her current work develops a UK river water-temperature modelling pipeline that combines bias-corrected climate projections with site-specific factors. The aim is practical: to quantify adaptation benefits under different futures and to guide where interventions—like cooling from tree cover—will matter most.

At the science–policy interface, Anna has contributed to national and international programmes. With the Met Office through the UK Climate Resilience Programme, she co-developed multi-sector climate-risk indicators that informed the UK’s Third Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA3). For the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) she supported methods for National Drought Plans and co-led technical delivery of Natural Resource-Driven Fragility: Mapping Global Vulnerability (2024). She has advised the Climate Financial Risk Forum (CFRF) on climate risk and the mobilisation of adaptation finance, and has engaged with the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) to integrate climate- and nature-related risks into financial decision-making.

Working at the interface with finance, Anna uses ENCORE (Exploring Natural Capital Opportunities, Risks and Exposure) and related tools to help institutions understand how ecosystem-service dependencies and environmental change affect portfolios and the real economy. Methodologically, she combines climate modelling, geospatial analysis, laboratory analyses, pollution measurements and ecological surveys with social-research methods (interviews and public surveys), adding machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) where appropriate. She uses reproducible workflows and reports assumptions, limitations and uncertainty— including model spread—clearly. 

Alongside international work, Anna supports Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) planning, providing evidence-led, light-touch research for small residential projects so that local development contributes to nature and community wellbeing. She mentors students and collaborates widely across disciplines, policy and finance, with a simple goal: to turn high-quality evidence into credible, nature-positive adaptation strategies that improve outcomes for people, ecosystems and investors.

I enjoy working with students at the point where climate, environment and decision-making meet. At Imperial College London’s Centre for Environmental Policy I have helped lead seminar strands within the MSc Environmental Technology tools module, including series on drought vulnerability and resilience and on net zero solutions for the food and energy sectors. Sessions are highly interactive and collaborative, using consultancy challenges, mock international conferences and stakeholder forums so that students can explore real metrics, trade-offs and uncertainty together. I supervise MSc dissertations on topics such as the water–energy–food nexus, urban nature-based solutions and locally led climate adaptation, and I support students in shaping and presenting their research. My aim is to create an inclusive, supportive space in which students feel confident to question indicators, work with evidence, and design practical responses to climate and nature risks.

Beyond research, Anna practises microscope and nature photography as a way of seeing structure and scale in the environment. She documents the microworlds of lakes and rivers and uses those images in talks and community settings to translate complex ideas. The same habits — careful observation, attention to pattern, and connecting micro-processes to wider systems — inform her approach to risk and adaptation.