Steinberger was a
postdoctoral fellow at the
University of Lausanne and then the
University of Zurich, working alongside
Claudia R. Binder. Steinberger was appointed Senior Researcher at the
University of Klagenfurt Institute of Social Ecology in 2007. Her research considers the relationships between the use of resources (energy, materials and emission of greenhouse gases) and performance of societies (wellbeing and economic output). She is interested in identifying new development pathways toward a
low carbon society. She joined the
University of Leeds as an associate professor in ecological economics in 2011. She is a member of the
Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP). On 1 August 2020, Steinberger joined the
University of Lausanne as a full professor on the social
impact of climate change. Steinberger showed the
greenhouse gas emissions of global cities depends on the relation between geophysical and technical factors. She has also investigated the textile chain,
food waste and materials use. Steinberger is a member of the
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) iBUILD (
Infrastructure BUsiness models, valuation and Innovation for Local Delivery). Steinberger is the Principal Investigator on the
Leverhulme Trust Project "Living Well Within Limits". The project investigates what the biophysical requirements are for human well-being, and the influence of social provisioning on the levels of resource associated with this. Steinberger has studied how humanity can maintain a good quality of life without damaging the planet. She argues that to achieve the
United Nations (UN)
Sustainable Development Goals the world must move away from growth and toward an economic model that promotes sustainability and equity. In 2020, environmental journalist
Roger Harrabin reported on her research on the responsibility of the rich for climate change. Steinberger supports the work of
Greta Thunberg and the
school strike for climate activists. She was one of 238 academics who called for the
European Union to limit economic growth and instead promote stability and wellbeing. Steinberger has been the Lead Author on the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 6th Assessment Report for Working Group 3. She was also Lead Author on the Urbanisation knowledge module of the
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) Global Energy Assessment. She is on the Steering Committee of
Future Earth. In October 2022, Steinberger participated at a road blockage in Bern with the Swiss ecological movement
Renovate Switzerland, and glued her hand to the pavement alongside five other people. Ten weeks into the
second Trump presidency, Steinberger writes in
The Guardian that humanity faces unprecedented threats and that "we need an appropriate name for this new era of fossil and tech bros accelerating attacks on democracy and the planet: cataclysm capitalism". She argues that this new phase builds on
neoliberalism but is indifferent to a deteriorating economy. Steinberger outlines three cornerstones for a successful resistance, while observing that: ==Personal life==