Jonathan Proctor, University of British Columbia

Research

environmental economics climate economics remote sensing machine learning earth science

Latest papers

Global high-resolution estimates of the UN Human Development Index using satellite imagery and machine learning.
Nature communications · 2026
Using markets to adapt to climate change.
Science (New York, N.Y.) · 2026
Climate change increases the interannual variance of summer crop yields globally through changes in temperature and water supply.
Science advances · 2025 · first author

All 4 publications

Latest funding

Predicting global socio-economic vulnerability to climate hazards using satellite imagery and machine learning
SSHRC · 2025 · Principal investigator
$33,993
PERCS: Perennial Plant Restoration for Carbon Sequestration in Canadian Agricultural Landscapes
NSERC · 2023 · Co-investigator
$1,408,019

All 2 grants and awards

4 publications.

01

Global high-resolution estimates of the UN Human Development Index using satellite imagery and machine learning.

Sherman L, Proctor J, Druckenmiller H, Tapia H, Hsiang S

Nature communications2026

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-68805-6 PMID: 41702909

02

Using markets to adapt to climate change.

Greenhill S, Hsiang S, Balboni C, Barrage L, Bolliger IW, Boomhower J, Diaz D, Druckenmiller H, Garg T, Hino M, Hong H, Kousky C, Martinich J, Nath I, Oremus KL, Park RJ, Phan T, Proctor J, Rafey W, Sarofim MC, Schlenker W, Simon B

Science (New York, N.Y.)2026

DOI: 10.1126/science.aea7431 PMID: 41678624

03

Climate change increases the interannual variance of summer crop yields globally through changes in temperature and water supply.

Proctor J, Zeppetello LV, Chan D, Huybers P

Science advances2025First author

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ady3575 PMID: 40901967

04

Global climate migration is a story of who and not just how many.

Benveniste H, Huybers P, Proctor J

Nature communications2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62969-3 PMID: 40903469

Predicting global socio-economic vulnerability to climate hazards using satellite imagery and machine learning

Principal investigatorSSHRC2025Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Proctor, Jonathan N.

Keywords: environmental economics; climate economics; remote sensing; machine learning; earth science

$33,993

PERCS: Perennial Plant Restoration for Carbon Sequestration in Canadian Agricultural Landscapes

Co-investigatorNSERC2023Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Sargent, Risa RD

Keywords: adoption; carbon sequestration; connectivity; ecosystem services; farmer/producer values; natural climate solutions; remote sensing; socio-economic drivers; spillover effects; woody perennial plantings

$1,408,019

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their SSHRC grant from 2025

Subject: Prospective PhD student: environmental economics Dear Professor Proctor, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Global high-resolution estimates of the UN Human Development Index using satellite imagery and machine learning." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your SSHRC-funded project "Predicting global socio-economic vulnerability to climate hazards using satellite imagery and machine learning" (2025), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]