Meet PLOS Climate Section Editor Shonali Pachauri

In this blog post, we speak to Shonali Pachauri, PLOS Climate Section Editor for Politics & Justice.

Could you tell us a bit about how you ended up in your area of study?

After my Master’s, I spent a few years doing fieldwork in remote rural India, where I saw firsthand how vital natural resources are for marginalized communities. This experience deepened my interest in studying resource access and use to reduce deprivation and enhance wellbeing while minimizing environmental impacts. This then morphed into my focus on analyzing energy poverty in India during my doctoral and post-doctoral work.

What’s the focus of your current work, and what questions or issues are you hoping to address?

I now focus more broadly on issues of equity and justice in relation to energy and climate policy. My research focuses on analysing inequalities and transitions in energy and infrastructure access, designing transformative social, institutional, and technological pathways for access to energy services and infrastructures essential to a decent life for all, and evaluating the broader impacts of these transitions on human well-being, climate change, and sustainable development.

Why do the principles of Open Access and Open Science matter to you?

Open Access and Open Science are crucial because they break down financial and institutional barriers, ensuring that knowledge is accessible to researchers, policymakers, and communities worldwide, especially in under-resourced regions. By making research freely available, these principles empower diverse voices, foster collaboration, and enable more equitable participation in scientific progress.

Why did you decide to join PLOS Climate as a Section Editor?

I believe that politics and justice are central to advancing meaningful climate action, as they shape both the challenges and solutions in addressing climate change. When I learned that the journal was introducing a new section dedicated to these issues, I was excited by the opportunity to contribute. This focus is essential for highlighting the structural and equity dimensions of climate policy, and I look forward to engaging in these critical discussions.

What kind of papers would you be particularly excited to see submitted to your section of PLOS Climate?

I would be particularly excited to see papers that critically examine the intersection of climate action, governance, and equity—especially those that highlight marginalized voices, explore power dynamics in policy and decision-making, and offer insights into just and inclusive transitions. Empirical studies, theoretical contributions, and interdisciplinary perspectives that challenge dominant narratives and propose transformative solutions would be especially welcome. More work on incorporating issues of relevance for justice and equity in scenarios, narratives and modelling of fair climate ambition would also be welcome.  

Ready to submit your work to PLOS Climate‘s Politics & Justice section? Follow our step-by-step guide to the submission process!