Ms. Cheriesse Bema-Kwakye

Cheriesse Bema-Kwakye is a Researcher in Energy Transitions and Resource Governance at the African Leadership Centre, King’s College London, working across the King’s Dickson Poon School of Law and Department of International Development.

Her research critically interrogates how power, justice, and leadership shape energy transitions, resource governance, and climate diplomacy, with a geographical focus spanning across the African continent.

Grounded in decolonial methodologies, Cheriesse challenges Eurocentric knowledge and ‘justice’ systems, and centres context-specific, grassroots-driven approaches to climate and environmental governance. Her work actively exposes how global ‘development’ and finance structures reproduce and further entrenches inequalities, and advocates for democratic, rights-based, and locally-articulated pathways to equitable transitions.

As a practitioner, she has facilitated multi-stakeholder dialogues between African civil society organisations, industry partners, and international policymakers, working to amplify grassroots leadership, redistribute power in policy processes, and embed community-led approaches into national frameworks.

She holds an MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and a BA in Human Geography and the Environment from the University of York. She has held fellowships with the LSE Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, the Dialogue Society, and the UK-US Youth Dialogue Programme.