Past Events
2019 Events
Monday, November 25, 2019: CIERP & CREATE Research Seminar with Zdenka Myslikova
Building energy innovation systems in Latin America: Insights from Brazil, Chile, and Mexico
12:30 pm – 1:45 pm
Crowe Room, The Fletcher School
Zdenka Myslikova is a PhD candidate at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy with an interest in energy technology innovation, climate policy and regulation. In her doctoral research, she assesses energy technology innovation in the transition countries – what factors are key in motivating energy technology innovation? – and applies the adaptive leadership framework to understand why some countries are leaders in energy technology innovation while others are not. She holds a master’s degree in economics from the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE) in Mexico, and before starting her doctorate, she served at Mexico’s Energy Regulatory Commission.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Sara Rosales.
Monday, November 18, 2019: Climate Puzzles for Diplomats Session V
Climate and Advocacy
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Crowe Room, Goddard 310
The Fletcher School, 160 Packard Ave, Medford, MA 02155
Light refreshments will be served.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Zdenka Myslikova.
Monday, November 18, 2019: Conversation with Kaveh Madani on Environmental (in)Security in the Middle East
12:30-1:30 pm
Please join the Middle East Club, the Fares Center and Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP) for a Conversation with Kaveh Madani, on Environmental (in)Security in the Middle East.
Today, the Middle East is facing a range of environmental challenges; environmental degradation, erratic rainfalls, floods, heat waves, water bankruptcy and drought, food shortage, and dust storms. Climate change, regional tensions and wars are only exacerbating these problems. With environmental insecurity comes the migration and displacement of people, conflict and social and political instability throughout the region. In this conversation, Kaveh Madani will discuss the role of politics, development policies, and mismanagement in the environmental challenges facing Iran and the larger Middle East.
Attendance is by registration. RSVP here.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019: Climate Puzzles for Diplomats Session IV
Climate and Gender
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Crowe Room, Goddard 310
The Fletcher School, 160 Packard Ave, Medford, MA 02155
Some of your PhDs in residence will gather to introduce key topics in the climate field and how they intersect with security studies. What does the climate debate look like in this field, what are the current approaches, where are the opportunities, the need for action, and where are we failing? We will start the conversation with perspectives from your PhDs who carry out work in different fields of security studies, and together will discuss where and how every Fletcherite can find a window of opportunity to address climate in their practice. No prior knowledge of any of the topics needed. The whole community is welcome! For more information see here.
Light refreshments will be served.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Zdenka Myslikova.
Wednesday, October 10, 2019: Climate Puzzles for Diplomats Session III
Climate in Business
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Crowe Room, Goddard 310
The Fletcher School, 160 Packard Ave, Medford, MA 02155
Some of your PhDs in residence will gather to introduce key topics in the climate field and how they intersect with security studies. What does the climate debate look like in this field, what are the current approaches, where are the opportunities, the need for action, and where are we failing? We will start the conversation with perspectives from your PhDs who carry out work in different fields of security studies, and together will discuss where and how every Fletcherite can find a window of opportunity to address climate in their practice. No prior knowledge of any of the topics needed. The whole community is welcome! For more information see here.
Light refreshments will be served.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Zdenka Myslikova.
Monday, October 7, 2019: Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series: Ed Markey
6:30 pm
Cohen Auditorium, Aidekman Arts Center
RSVP here
Co-sponsored by CIERP
Join Tisch College for a conversation about climate change, the Green New Deal, and public service with U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and Tufts Professor Gilbert Metcalf. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 2013, Markey previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 37 years after entering politics as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Throughout his career, Markey has become a national leader on energy, climate change and environmental protection, co-authoring the only comprehensive climate change bill to pass either chamber of Congress. In February, he co-authored the Green New Deal with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Markey is the recipient of multiple awards and recognitions, including an honorary degree from Tufts University.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Sara Rosales.
Monday, October 7, 2019: CIERP & CREATE Research Seminar with Colin Orians
Agrosocial Resilience in a Changing World: Working Across the Coffee Supply Chain in a Coupled Socio-Environmental System
12:30 pm – 1:45 pm
Crowe Room, The Fletcher School
Co-investigators include: Laura Kuhl, Sean Cash
Prof. Colin Orians is a Biology Professor at Tufts University. He is interested in Global Change Biology, with particular emphasis on climate change, species invasion, and sustainability of natural and agricultural ecosystems. As part of a research group, Orians currently works in diverse agroecosystems – tea in China, coffee in Costa Rica, and vegetables and grains in Massachusetts – as well as in old fields, hemlock forests and urban green roofs. For example, the group is studying the effects of climate change and herbivores on tea chemistry, and how it affects tea quality and productivity (as well as farmer livelihoods!). By integrating physiological, chemical, isotope techniques and theory, we strive to elucidate patterns, identify mechanisms, and anticipate future threats. Orians has a B.A. in Biology from Earlham College and Ph.D. in Entomology from Pennsylvania State University.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Sara Rosales.
Monday, September 30, 2019: CIERP & CREATE Research Seminar with Rishikesh Bhandary
Mobilizing Climate Finance: How and Why Fund Design Matters
12:30 pm – 1:45 pm
Cabot 702, The Fletcher School
Rishikesh Ram Bhandary is a doctoral candidate at the Fletcher School and a predoctoral fellow at the Climate Policy Lab at CIERP. His research interests include the architecture of climate finance, climate negotiations, the linkages between governance of climate change and sustainable development. His dissertation investigates how developing countries have sought to mobilize climate finance by setting up national climate funds. Through case studies of national climate funds in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, and Indonesia, this study harvests early lessons on the opportunities and challenges afforded by national climate funds. The dissertation also utilizes Fiji’s ongoing exploratory process of designing its national climate fund as a real-time study of how a country designs its national climate fund.
Light refreshments will be served. RSVP here.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Sara Rosales.
Monday, September 23, 2019: Climate Puzzles for Diplomats Session II
Climate in Security Studies
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Mugar 200
The Fletcher School, 160 Packard Ave, Medford, MA 02155
Some of your PhDs in residence will gather to introduce key topics in the climate field and how they intersect with security studies. What does the climate debate look like in this field, what are the current approaches, where are the opportunities, the need for action, and where are we failing? We will start the conversation with perspectives from your PhDs who carry out work in different fields of security studies, and together will discuss where and how every Fletcherite can find a window of opportunity to address climate in their practice. No prior knowledge of any of the topics needed. The whole community is welcome! For more information see here.
Light refreshments will be served.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Zdenka Myslikova.
Monday, September 16, 2019: WHRC Meet and Greet
Meet Scientists from Woods Hole Research Center
12:30pm – 1:45pm
Fletcher School Mezzanine (Cabot 301)
160 Packard Ave, Medford, MA 02155
Rotate from table to table to talk with the different scientists about their research projects. Learn about research assistantships, internships, and capstone advising. Light refreshments will be served. Please bring your own beverage.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Sara Rosales. RSVP here.
Thursday, September 12, 2019
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Cheryl A. Chase Center
200 Packard Ave, Medford, MA 02155
Come connect with CIERP faculty, staff, and fellow students! Our partners from across the University and from Woods Hole Research Center will join us to introduce their work.
Learn about events, activities, TA/RA opportunities, internships, and how the Center can support student travel.
Light refreshments will be served. RSVP here.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Sara Rosales.
Wednesday, September 11, 2019: Climate Puzzles for Diplomats Session I
Climate in IR theory and practice
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Mugar 200
The Fletcher School, 160 Packard Ave, Medford, MA 02155
Some of your PhDs in residence from the CIERP will gather and introduce key topics in the climate field and how these intersect with IR. How does the debate about our climate-constrained reality look right now, and what controversies will you, a practitioner in diplomacy and IR, face once you graduate from Fletcher? How can you prepare to face them, and where are there windows of opportunity to bring climate lenses into your field?
In this informal conversational session we will share our insights based on years of research and practice in the climate/enviro/energy field, and together will discuss where and how every Fletcherite can find a window of opportunity to address climate in their practice. For more information, see here.
Light refreshments will be served. RSVP here.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Zdenka Myslikova.
Monday, September 9, 2019: Research Seminar with Mihaela Papa and Zhen (Arc) Han
Rising Power Alliances/Coalitions and U.S. Global Leadership
12:30 pm – 1:45 pm
Crowe Room (Goddard 310)
The Fletcher School, 160 Packard Ave, Medford, MA 02155
Are rising powers engaging in alliances/coalitions that challenge the U.S. role in global governance and if so, how? While some argue that China and Russia’s policies are converging and that a new Cold War is on the horizon, others assert that rising power coalitions such as the BRICS group are a temporary fad. During this talk, we will discuss rising powers’ own understanding of alliances/coalitions and introduce empirical approaches to assessing their collaboration on foreign, environmental, defense, and economic policies across multiple international arrangements. This research is a part of the 3-year Minerva Research Initiative-funded project on Rising Power Alliances. We are now hiring four research assistants so please come if you are interested in working with us.
Light refreshments will be served. RSVP here.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Sara Rosales.
Thursday, May 2, 2019: China in the Developing World with Sulmaan Khan
The Pacific as the Pivot of World History
6:30 – 8:00 pm
Cambridge Public Library
449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA
One Belt, One Road, the trade war, Sino-American relations, the liberal world order. These are issues that dominate the headlines. But they are part of a longer, deeper story: that of great power struggle for mastery of the Pacific. Restoring the Pacific to center-stage in world affairs, Sulmaan Wasif Khan recasts our understanding of the twentieth century— and of where we are and where we might be going in the twenty-first.
Wednesday, April 24, 2019: CIERP Research Seminar with Jenny Aker
What are the barriers to the adoption of environmental techniques in Africa? Evidence from Niger
12:30 – 1:15 pm
Crowe Room, Goddard 310
Jenny Aker is a Professor of Development Economics at the Fletcher School and Department of Economics at Tufts University. Jenny also serves as the Director of the Fletcher Leadership Program in Financial Inclusion (FLPFI), the Deputy Director of the Hitachi Center for Technology and International Affairs and the co-Director of the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP). Her current work seeks to understand the impact of information technology on development outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in the areas of agriculture, agricultural markets, adult education and financial inclusion.
Tuesday, April 23, 2019: A Discussion and Reception with Gary Dirks
Transitioning the Energy System
4:00 – 5:30 pm
Cabot 702
Reception to follow
Dr. Dirks is director of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability and director of LightWorks®, an Arizona State University initiative that capitalizes on ASU’s strengths in solar energy and other light-inspired research. He is also the Julie Wrigley Chair of Sustainable Practices and a professor of practice in the School of Sustainability and distinguished sustainability scientist.
Before joining ASU, Dirks was the president of BP Asia-Pacific and the president of BP China. In China, he grew BP from an operation with fewer than 30 employees and no revenue to more than 1,300 employees and revenues of about $4 billion in 2008.
Dirks has served on the boards of the India Council for Sustainable Development, the U.S. China Center for Sustainable Development, and the China Business Council for Sustainable Development, and currently is a member of the Science Advisory Board of Conservation International.
Dirks received China’s “Friendship Award” in 2003 and received an honorary CMG (Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George) from the United Kingdom in 2005. In December 2008 he was recognized by the People’s Daily as one of the 10 most influential multinational company leaders of the last 30 years of China’s economic development. In 1999 he received the CLAS Leaders Award for his extraordinary leadership skills while driving positive change locally and internationally by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University.
Dirks received a Ph.D. in chemistry from ASU in 1980. He was the first doctoral student to work in the Center for the Study of Early Events in Photosynthesis (now the Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis).
This event is hosted by the Climate & Energy working group of the Tufts University Research and Scholarship Strategic Plan.
Monday, April 8, 2019: CIERP Research Seminar with Randall Spalding-Fecher
The Role of International Carbon Markets in the Paris Agreement
12:30 – 1:45 pm
Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies Conference Room
Randall Spalding-Fecher has more than 20 years’ experience in energy and climate change analysis, following 3 ½ years of strategic management consulting experience. He has special expertise in GHG mitigation methodology and project development, result-based climate finance program development, and international rules on carbon markets. His experience includes leading the “Impact of CDM” research for the High Level Panel on the CDM Policy Dialogue, reviewing and consolidating more than 40 CDM baseline and monitoring methodologies, as well as serving as a consultant to the UNFCCC on additionality testing, technical guidelines for baseline methodologies, energy efficiency methodologies, and analysing requests for registration of CDM projects. His energy-climate-water nexus experience includes an analysis of the climate impacts on hydropower in Southern Africa. He develops carbon and climate finance progarms for multi-lateral development banks and international funds, has served as a policy advisor to governments on climate change and energy and has led capacity building programmes to support government, NGO’s and the private sector.
Wednesday, April 3, 2019: CIERP Research Seminar with Ping Huang
Landscape of Chinese Clean Energy Innovation: System Strengths and Weaknesses
12:30 – 1:45 pm
Crowe Room, Goddard 310
Ping Huang is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Climate Policy Lab. Read more.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019: CIERP Research Seminar with Elin Lerum Boasson
Comparative Renewable Energy Policy
12:30 – 1:45 pm
Murrow Room
Elin Lerum Boasson is an Associate Professor at the Department for Political Science, University of Oslo. She also holds a position at Cicero – Center for International Climate Research, Oslo. For the Academic year 2018 – 2019 she is a visiting scholar at SCANCOR/Weatherhead, Harvard University. She has published extensively on climate and energy policies; exploring the role of policy entrepreneurship, business influence and political steering. Boasson is a Lead Author in the Sixth Assessment report cycle of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), WG III Mitigation, chapter 13 National and sub-national policies and institutions.
Monday, March 11, 2019: Climate Change Discussion and Reception with Granger Morgan
On Climate Change, We’re Toast. And if we don’t get serious now, probably burnt toast.
Reception at 5:00 followed by talk at 5:30pm
Cabot 702
M. Granger Morgan is the Hamerschlag University Professor of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He holds appointments in three academic units: the Department of Engineering and Public Policy; the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and the H. John Heinz III College. His research addresses problems in science, technology and public policy with a particular focus on energy, electric power, environmental systems, climate change, the adoption of new technologies, and risk analysis. Much of his work has involved the development and demonstration of methods to characterize and treat uncertainty in quantitative policy analysis. At Carnegie Mellon, Morgan co-directs (with Inês Azevedo) the NSF Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making and (with Jay Apt) the university’s Electricity Industry Center.
Morgan is a Member of the National Academy of Sciences and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. At the National Academies, he serves as the NAS co-chair of the Report Review Committee and has chaired a variety of consensus studies. Morgan is a member of the board for the International Risk Governance Council Foundation and of the Advisory Board for the E.ON Energy Research Center, RWTH Aachen. He is a member of the DOE’s Electricity Advisory Committee and of the Energy Advisory Committee of PNNL. In the past, he served as Chair of the Science Advisory Board of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as Chair of the Advisory Council of the Electric Power Research Institute. He is a Fellow of the AAAS, the IEEE, and the Society for Risk Analysis. He holds a BA from Harvard College (1963) where he concentrated in Physics, an MS in Astronomy and Space Science from Cornell (1965) and a Ph.D. from the Department of Applied Physics and Information Sciences at the University of California at San Diego (1969).
This event is hosted by the Climate & Energy working group of the Tufts University Research and Scholarship Strategic Plan.
Monday, March 11, 2019: A Discussion with Robin Chase
Highlights from Peers Inc: How People and Platforms are Inventing the Collaborative Economy and Reinventing Capitalism
12:30 – 1:45 pm
Mugar 200
Robin Chase is a transportation entrepreneur. She is co-founder and former CEO of Zipcar, the world’s leading carsharing network; as well as co-founder of Veniam, a network company that moves terabytes of data between vehicles and the cloud. She has recently co-founded her first nonprofit, NUMO, a global alliance to channel the opportunities presented by new urban mobility technologies to build cities that are sustainable and just.
She sits on the Boards of the World Resources Institute and Tucows, and serves on the Dutch multinational DSM’s Sustainability Advisory Board. Robin lectures widely, has been frequently featured in the major media, and has received many awards in the areas of innovation, design, and environment, including the prestigious Urban Land Institute’s Nicols Prize as Urban Visionary, Time 100 Most Influential People, Fast Company Fast 50 Innovators, and BusinessWeek Top 10 Designers.
Check out Chase’s discussion on the Fletcher Forum podcast with Fletcher School student, Matt Weinmann. They talk about her new book Peers Inc which describes how our modern, collaborative economy can tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges and change the very nature of capitalism. Chase also mentions how excess capacity can transform business and how Peers Inc can spur innovation to new heights. Listen to the podcast here.
Wednesday, February 27, 2019: Catherine Wolfram
Does Solving Energy Poverty Help Solve Poverty? Perspectives from Kenya and Ghana
4:00 – 5:30 pm
Cabot 702
Reception to follow
Catherine Wolfram is the Cora Jane Flood Professor of Business Administration at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley. She is also Faculty Director of the Energy Institute at Haas and of The E2e Project, a research organization focused on energy efficiency. She is a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and an affiliated faculty member in the Agriculture and Resource Economics department and the Energy and Resources Group at Berkeley.
Wolfram has published extensively on the economics of energy markets. She has studied the electricity industry around the world and has analyzed the effects of environmental regulation, including climate change mitigation policies, on the energy sector. She is currently implementing several randomized controlled trials to evaluate energy programs in the U.S., Kenya and India.
This event is hosted by the Climate & Energy working group of the Tufts University Research and Scholarship Strategic Plan.
Thursday February 7, 2019: A Discussion and Career Q&A with Satya Tripathi
The Climate Reality and the Need to Act, and Act Now
12:00 – 1:40 pm
Mugar 231
Satya S. Tripathi is UN Assistant Secretary-General and Head of New York Office at UN Environment. A development economist and lawyer with over 35 years of varied experience, Mr. Tripathi has served with the UN since 1998 in key positions in Europe, Asia and Africa in the areas of Climate Change, Human Rights, Democratic Governance and Legal Affairs.
Mr. Tripathi is a Senior Distinguished Fellow on Natural Resources Governance at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and serves on the Advisory Council of the Natural Capital Declaration (NCD). He previously served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Advisory Council on Forests; and in India as a member of its national civil service.
Wednesday, February 6, 2019: CIERP Research Seminar with Jørgen Wettestad
The Evolution of Carbon Markets: Design, Diffusion and Linking
12:30 – 1:45 pm
Crowe Room, Goddard 310
Jørgen Wettestad, Research Professor at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute in Oslo, Norway, has published extensively on international and EU environmental policy, climate policy and emissions trading in particular, has led EU funded projects, was Programme Director at the FNI, and is Lead Author in WG III in IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report. He is Visiting Scholar at the Weatherhead Centre, Harvard, from August 2018- August 2019.
Wednesday, January 23, 2019: CIERP Research Seminar with Fang Zhang
How Governments Mobilize Domestic Finance for Clean Energy Innovation: A Comparison Study between China and Germany
12:30 – 1:45 pm
Crowe Room, Goddard 310
Fang Zhang is a doctoral candidate at The Fletcher School at Tufts. She received her doctoral degree from the School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University in China in 2016 and she is working on her second Ph.D. at The Fletcher School now. Her research topics include innovation finance, renewable energy innovation, and technology transfer.