Clean Air Task Force names Jonathan Banks as first-ever Chief of Programs and Advocacy
Clean Air Task Force (CATF) announces Jonathan Banks as Chief of Programs and Advocacy, overseeing all CATF’s global programs and advocacy regions.
Banks will provide strategic leadership to innovate and scale effective climate solutions that prevent pollution, advance clean power, and transform complex sectors. He will champion CATF’s work on innovative breakthroughs, expand independent technical expertise to policymakers and industry, and deepen collaboration with partners to accelerate the global adoption of climate solutions.
“CATF’s work has expanded significantly in the last five years, with 140 staff driving impact on six continents – addressing emissions and advancing solutions across every sector of the economy. We have created this position to bring even greater focus and coordination to our work,” said Armond Cohen, Executive Director of CATF. “Jonathan has been an extraordinary leader at CATF for more than two decades, consistently taking on some of the most difficult challenges in climate and turning ambition into meaningful progress. His leadership on methane is a powerful example of what’s possible when deep expertise, persistence, and strategic advocacy come together. I’m thrilled to see him take on this new role, where his experience, judgment, and ability to bring people together will help strengthen CATF’s impact.”
This role builds upon Banks’ decades of leadership at CATF. He joined CATF in 1999 as a Deputy Director, for the Clear the Air campaign working to clean up coal fired power plants in the U.S., and has since excelled in a range of roles across the organization — advancing climate and clean air solutions around the world. Most recently, as Vice President of Methane Pollution Prevention, Banks led technical programs and advocacy across four sectors and 27 countries. Under his leadership, CATF elevated methane pollution impacts to the broader climate community while working shoulder-to-shoulder with governments, industry, civil society, and multi-lateral agencies to advance solutions to prevent it. He and his team helped envision and mobilize the Global Methane Pledge, achieved passage of the first-ever EU Methane Regulation, and increased policy and industry support for methane abatement across the energy, waste, and agriculture sectors. He has also played an integral role in managing the organization’s growth and global expansion, leading engagement at the multi-lateral level, and training and mentoring a new generation of CATF leaders.
“I’ve spent 27 years at CATF helping the organization take on problems others thought were too hard or too complex, and I’m proud of how much we have accomplished,” said Jonathan Banks, Chief of Programs and Advocacy at CATF. “Stepping into this role feels like a continuation of that story rather than a new chapter – a chance to help bring our programs and advocacy even closer to create the kind of impact necessary for the complexity of the climate problem.”
Within his new role, Banks will continue to engage in CATF’s methane work and will incorporate that oversight into an integrated portfolio designed to prevent pollution, advance clean power, and transform complex systems around the world.
Effective January 2027, Felicia Douglas, currently CATF’s Director of Program Management for Methane Pollution Prevention, will assume leadership of CATF’s global methane program.
Press Contact
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About Clean Air Task Force
Clean Air Task Force (CATF) is a global nonprofit organization working to safeguard against the worst impacts of climate change by catalyzing the rapid development and deployment of low-carbon energy and other climate-protecting technologies. With 30 years of internationally recognized expertise on climate policy and a fierce commitment to exploring all potential solutions, CATF is a pragmatic, non-ideological advocacy group with the bold ideas needed to address climate change. CATF has offices in Boston, Washington D.C., and Brussels, with staff working virtually around the world. Visit catf.us and follow @cleanaircatf.
