Willis's career involves the intersection of the environment, especially climate change and energy, with politics and public policy.
[2] From 2004 until it was closed in 2011, Willis was vice-chair of the Sustainable Development Commission, an advisory body to the UK governments.
This included advising the Lake District National Park on setting up a local low carbon budget and also the British Academy and Co-operatives UK on models for community ownership of energy.
Her role is to help this citizens' assembly stay focused, accurate and balanced when recommending how the UK can achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, in line with the Climate Change Act.
[4] In partial response to the Covid19 pandemic, the assembly's final report supported economic recovery measures that reduced greenhouse gases and encouraged green changes to lifestyles.