Jean-François focuses on the development of the Atmospheric Impact Framework (AIF), which aims to provide a better assessment of carbon credit markets across a wide range of project classes. Working with carbon credit market specialists and Earth system scientists from across the globe, he aims to bring the best science to enable a functional and scalable carbon market and accelerate solutions to address the climate crisis.

Jean-François spent his academic research career (until 2022) at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, CO. He served as the Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory Director during his last five years there. As a climate modeling researcher, he authored or co-authored over 300 peer-reviewed scientific articles, with more than 100,000 citations to date. His contributions to climate science have been recognized through multiple distinctions, including the Highly Cited Researcher Award (since 2016) and election as a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. He also chaired the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP), which coordinates international climate modeling efforts used in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments.

Prior to joining Three Cairns Group, he was a Senior Expert on Climate at McKinsey & Company, where he provided strategic guidance to global clients on climate mitigation, risk assessment, and decarbonization pathways. He also worked at SilverLining, a non-profit organization focused on near-term climate change, as their Chief Climate Scientist.

Jean-François holds a BSc and PhD in Physics from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.

Jean-François joined Three Cairns Group because it provides him with the opportunity to use his scientific expertise and network of collaborators to create real-world solutions to the climate crisis.