Alice Hill

Class of Fall 2026

David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment

Council on Foreign Relations

Germany’s Climate Adaptation Plan: Lessons for the United States and the World

At the Academy, Hill is conducting research on German climate adaptation policy as a “best practice” for adaptation planning for a new edition of “Building a Resilient Tomorrow” (Oxford, 2020), co-authored with Leonardo Martinez Diaz. The book surveys climate adaptation across multiple disciplines (law, engineering, geopolitics, finance, health, behavioral economics, data analytics) and emphasizes the need for planning to achieve successful adaptation. In the revised edition, Hill intends to include Germany as an example of ambitious adaptation planning, focusing on how it developed its 2024 Climate Adaptation Strategy, including binding targets and subnational resilience mandates. Interacting with German adaptation policy makers and practitioners will deepen her understanding of Germany’s process and its potential as a model for other governments. Highlighting Germany’s leadership on this front will offer a valuable counterpoint to declining US federal climate action and help inform future American decision-making.

Alice Hill is the David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment at the Council on Foreign Relations and a leading expert on climate change risks and responses. She holds a BA (with distinction) in history and economics from Stanford University and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. Hill is the author of The Fight for Climate After COVID-19 (Oxford, 2021) and co-author of Building a Resilient Tomorrow: How to Prepare for the Coming Climate Disruption (Oxford, 2020). Hill’s career spans senior roles in the White House and the US Department of Homeland Security, as well as service as a federal prosecutor and judge. Early in her legal career, Hill served as chief of the major frauds division in California’s central district of the US Attorney’s Office, supervising over thirty prosecutors handling white-collar crime. She was honored with one of the Department of Justice’s highest honors, the John Marshall Award. As a judge and supervising judge within the Los Angeles Superior Court, she was elected by fellow justices to the committee responsible for overseeing all LA County court operations—600 courtrooms, 2.7 million case filings a year, and an annual budget of $900 million. In 2009, Hill was asked to serve as Senior Counselor to the Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), helping guide senior leadership of DHS agencies, briefing Congress, and leading and establishing key programs. She led the review of policy regarding creation of the cybersecurity workforce, sexual assault in the military, and legal requirements for terrorism protection; she also founded and led the anti-human trafficking initiative Blue Campaign.

In 2013, Hill joined the Obama administration as Special Assistant to the President and as Senior Director for Resilience Policy on the National Security Council, where she led the development of policy addressing national security and climate change. With top-secret security clearance, she managed a team of eight National Security Council Directors and developed federal policies regarding national preparedness for hazards of global consequence, including climate. Since 2016, Hill has held various roles at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, conducting and publishing research, providing expert testimony, convening policy leaders, and building public conversation around catastrophic global threats. She is a member of boards of directors and audit committees of the Munich Re Group and chair of the board of the National Cathedral School in Washington, DC. She is also a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, founding board member of the Council on Strategic Risks, and a member of the advisory board of One Concern.