My research focuses on global environmental governance, particularly related to the issue of climate change. I am interested in the increasingly multilevel nature of climate change governance, where governance occurs at various levels of political jurisdiction, from the local to the global, and across the public and private sectors. Current projects investigate the ways that institutions and actors interact across these various tiers and spheres of governance and the subsequent implications for addressing the threat of climate change as well as our understanding of global environmental governance.
Mapping Emissions Trading Systems for Greenhouse Gases: This is a collaborative project with Matthew Hoffman at the University of Toronto. This project explores the relationship between the more than 30 cap and trade systems for greenhouse gases that are in operation, development or under consideration. We are compiling a data base with information on the spatial, temporal and institutional dimensions of each cap and trade policy venue, which will give us a broad overview of this policy domain and how it has evolved over time. We will also investigate whether and how political debates around cap and trade are reconfiguring the nature of global climate change governance. Supported by the Academic Enrichment Program, College of Liberal Arts, Colorado State University.
Cities and Climate Change: I have an ongoing interest in
the role of local governments (and their networks) in the governance of global
climate change. I co-edited (with Harriet Bulkeley, Durham University) a 2007 special issue of Local Environment on this subject and
recently collaborated with Barry Rabe (University
of Michigan) on a chapter looking
at the interaction of state and local climate policies in the US. In summer 2008, I supervised two undergraduate interns who conducted research on local climate change policies in partnership with the City of Fort Collins. The interns were funded by the Center for Multiscale Modelling of Atmospheric Processes.
Transnational Climate Change Governance: Liliana Andonova (Colby College), Harriet Bulkeley (Durham University), and I have developed a typology for distinguishing different forms of transnational climate change governance (under review at Global Environmental Politics). We are also part of the Leverhulme Network on Transnational Climate Change Governance, which consists more than a dozen scholars from six countries who seek to understand the significance of transnational forms of climate governance. The network is organized by Harriet Bulkeley and funded by the Leverhulme Trust (UK).
Earth System Governance: I am on the scientific planning committee for a new long-term research initiative under the International Human Dimensions Programme for Global Environmental Change (IHDP). We are developing a science plan that lays out a research agenda on governance issues related to the co-evolution of human and natural systems.