Katherine Richardson Christensen (born May 11, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois) is Professor in Biological Oceanography,[1] leader of the Sustainability Science Centre and a researcher for the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate at the University of Copenhagen.

[1] Katherine Richardson was Chairman of the Danish Commission on Climate Change Policy that reported in 2010 and presented a roadmap for how Denmark can become independent of fossil fuels by 2050.

[3] She is Co-Editor in Chief of the Marine Ecology Progress Series and a member of the editorial board for Global Sustainability.

Authorship of books includes Our Threatened Oceans (2008)[4] with Stefan Rahmstorf and Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions (2014)[5] together with Will Steffen, Diana Liverman and others.

She is or has been a member or chair of numerous national and international committees and organisations relating to science policy and/or sustainability.