Rakhyun E. Kim is Associate Professor of Earth System Governance at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University.

Trained as an interdisciplinary scholar (PhD, ANU Fenner School), Kim works at the intersection of global environmental governance and international environmental law. A central theme of his work is the mismatch between existing institutional arrangements and Earth system dynamics. By examining how international regimes, agreements, and organisations interact within complex institutional architectures, his research develops and refines theories of Earth system law and governance designed to respond to planetary-scale risks in ways that are both effective and just.

This research agenda is pursued through several major collaborative projects. Kim is the Principal Investigator of the European Research Council project on 'problem shifting' between international environmental treaty regimes and a work package leader in the Horizon Europe project on marine carbon dioxide removal. He also leads an incubator project on planetary politics funded by Pathways to Sustainability at Utrecht University.

Kim contributes to academia in several leadership capacities. Within the Earth System Governance research network, he is a member of the Scientific Steering Committee and a coordinating lead author of the next Science Plan and the forthcoming assessment of the International Panel on Earth System Governance. He previously served as a founding co-chair of the Taskforces on Earth System Law and Earth-Space Governance. He is also a co-editor of the Earth System Governance book series published by Cambridge University Press and serves on the editorial boards of leading journals, including Global Environmental Politics, Earth System Governance, and Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law. He has contributed to major international science–policy processes, including the United Nations Environment Programme's Global Environment Outlook (2019) and the United Nations World Ocean Assessment (2026).

At Utrecht University, Kim serves on the Advisory Committee of Institutions for Open Societies and co-leads the Copernicus Institute's Special Interest Group on Network Analysis for Sustainability. He teaches across bachelor, master, and doctoral programmes and supervises research students. He was nominated twice by a student association for the Outstanding Teacher Award (2019, 2022).

A brief introduction to the concept of Earth System Governance.