Inès Pajot, an incoming first-year student at the University of California, Berkeley, has described her journey from early science classes in Paris to cofounding a global climate coalition and pursuing clean energy solutions. Pajot moved from Paris to London at age six and first learned about climate change through school lessons on topics such as the greenhouse effect and United Nations Climate Change Conferences.
Her interest in climate work deepened during her 8th grade physics class when she studied how energy is generated. This curiosity evolved into a passion for astrophysics and nuclear fusion—the process that powers stars like the sun and provides Earth with radiation. Pajot explained that her research into energy production led her to explore fossil fuels and their environmental impacts.
At age 16, Pajot spent a year in the Bay Area attending The Nueva School in San Mateo. There, she joined other students to found the High School Clean Energy Investment Coalition. “It has grown to encompass more than 50 high schools and 11 countries around the world,” Pajot said of the coalition, which helps students work with school endowment boards to invest in renewable energy sources.
Pajot indicated she will continue mentoring members of the coalition while studying at UC Berkeley. She noted, “I’ve trained up some amazing high school seniors who I feel are fully capable to continue the project, and I’m excited to try something new in the climate sphere.”
Looking ahead, Pajot plans to focus on clean energy research at Berkeley—particularly nuclear fusion—as a potential solution for climate change. “There are people trying to create nuclear fusion power plants because one fusion reaction generates vast amounts of energy. If it’s realized, it would be a very big solution to climate change,” she said.
Pajot remains open about her future path but expressed interest in using her experience at Berkeley as a foundation for possible entrepreneurship or further involvement in clean energy initiatives.
