"Climate Policy as a Geopolitical Tool: How the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism Affects its Relationships with Africa and China" (with Katharina Koch and Jennifer Winter) 2025. Invited chapter in the Palgrave Handbook on China-Europe-Africa relations. https://link.springer.com/book/9789819756391.
This chapter investigates how the CBAM will affect the EU’s trilateral and bilateral geopolitical relationships with Africa and China. We use trade data to identify the exposure of China and a subset of African countries (Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa and Tunisia) to the CBAM, using CBAM industries’ share of exports and the importance of the EU market. We explore the effect of the CBAM on bilateral and trilateral trade relations, and how differences in emissions pricing will affect the treatment of CBAM sector exports from African countries and China. We also present a qualitative analysis of responses from developing countries following the European Commission’s 2021 CBAM announcement. We find the CBAM will only have a limited effect on the trilateral relationship between Africa, China and the EU. Each African country has a unique trade relationship with the EU as well as individual emissions-reduction approaches. However, Mozambique is a least developed country particularly exposed to the CBAM, placing the debate of exemptions based on developing status at the forefront of its bilaterial relationship. Moreover, South Africa is prepared to challenge the EU’s CBAM, in concerted action with China, through the BASIC country bloc. Therefore, the CBAM may significantly affect the trilateral relationship between the EU, China and South Africa.
"Geopolitical Implications of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism" (with Katharina Koch and Jennifer Winter) 2023. Chapter 9 in Changing the Paradigm of Energy Geopolitics: resources and pathways in the light of global climate challenges, João Simões, Francisco Leandro, Eduardo Caetano de Sousa, Roopinder Oberoi, eds. Peter Lang Publishers. ISBN: 9781433191350.
Carbon tariffs, although complicated and costly to design and implement, reduce carbon leakage, shift the cost of abatement partly from countries with high carbon taxes to ones with low (or no) carbon taxes, and reduce competitiveness pressures on emissions-intensive and trade-exposed industries in high carbon-tax countries. Following this rationale and to level the carbon playing field, the European Union (EU) announced its proposal for the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in 2019 as part of the European Green Deal. Once it takes effect in 2026, the CBAM will be the first initiative of its kind. This chapter conceptualizes the CBAM as soft power diplomacy with which the EU attempts to generate policy reforms in third countries by imposing carbon tariffs and related incentives. Furthermore, the limited sectoral coverage reveals the dynamics of the EU’s normative power on climate policy and the influence of its climate policy on the international system. The main research question is how the CBAM may influence geopolitical relations between the EU and its main trade partners.
"Canadian Climate Policy Inventory" 2024
"Socio-Economic Review of the Impacts of Northwest Territories’ Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway 10" with Kent Fellows and Jennifer Winter. 2021. Canadian Journal of Regional Science 45(3): 137-149.
This paper investigates the likely socio-economic effects on the community of Tuktoyaktuk from completion of the all-season Highway 10 (the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway) in Northwest Territories, Canada. Prior to the highway’s completion, Tuktoyaktuk was connected to the rest of Canada by air, winter road, and the Mackenzie River in summer. Our analysis is based on estimated relationships between community remoteness and quantifiable socio-economic metrics using the recently developed Index of Remoteness and associated agglomeration data from Statistics Canada (Alasia et al. 2017). Most notable among our results is a statistically strong relationship between agglomeration and both the mean and distribution of household and family incomes, implying that Highway 10 increases incomes across the income distribution. We find similar evidence suggesting increased rates of high school completion. We find no statistically significant relationship between agglomeration and employment participation rates. There is a positive relationship for some forms of crime but no relationship for violent or property crime rates.
"Infrastructure Policy Trends: Global Rare Earth Elements Market" 2022. School of Public Policy Publications.
The use of REEs has become fundamental to many high-tech and end-use applications including the electronics and transportation sectors, but manufacutrers face challenges to procuring sufficient REE supplies due to supply-chain disruptions and long project lead times for new mines. A strong policy agenda is needed if Canada is to position itself as the "global supplier of choice" for REEs.
"Existing and Planned Infrastructure Projects: Potential Compatibility with the Canadian Northern Corridor." 2022. School of Public Policy Publications. 15 (5).
This assessment provides information on the purpose, geographical characteristics, funding sources and active environmental and regulatory review processes of linear infrastructure modes like rail, road, commodity pipelines, power lines and communications infrastructure, and supporting inter-modal infrastructure in Canada. It is is part of a project that develops a geo-located database of existing and pending infrastructure projects in Canada. Drawing on data from official sources, the accompanying database is organized by type and mode of infrastructure. The infrastructure database developed as part of this project provides a comprehensive range of information on the status of the existing and pending linear infrastructure assets. Combined with additional data on, for example, use, geography, housing, population, economic activity, etc. the accompanying database can inform long-term planning of infrastructure investments in Canada.
"Mackenzie Valley Pipeline in Retrospect." 2021. School of Public Policy Publications. 14 (33).
Cancelled and stalled infrastructure projects can offer valuable insight into this and can lead to better decision-making processes around infrastructure development in Canada. For this purpose, I provide a retrospective look at the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline.
"Infrastructure Policy Trends: Critical Minerals Mining in Canada?" 2021. School of Public Policy Publications 14 (1).
With the ever-rising global demand for reliable suppliers with high environmental, transparency and anti-corruption standards, I explore Canada's potential as a preferred source of critical minerals for its key trading partners.
"An Analysis of Industrial Policy Mechanisms to Support Commercial Deployment of Bitumen Partial Upgrading in Alberta" (with Jennifer Winter and G. Kent Fellows). 2021. Report prepared for Alberta Innovates.
We use a model of capacity investment to explore the expected effect of different policy supports — such as direct equity investments or zero-cost loans — on firms’ decision to invest in a partial upgrading facility integrated with an existing oil sands extraction facility.
"Implications of an Infrastructure Corridor for Alberta's Economy" (with Trevor Tombe and G. Kent Fellows). 2020. School of Public Policy Publications.14 (7).
We quantify the potential economic gains in Alberta from reductions in trade costs and identify the importance of improved access to lower cost transportation options like rail for select commodities.
"Energy and Environmental Policy Trends: Canadas GHG Emissions from Transportation and Electricity Sectors." 2021. School of Public Policy Publications. 14 (1).
Since 1990s, Canada has made a lot of progress in mitigating GHGs from the electricity sector by gradually phasing out coal-fired power plants and increasing efficiency and generation from non-emitting sources like renewables. In contrast, Canada’s GHG emissions in the transportation sector have continuously increased. I argue that for Canada to achieve its long-term emissions reduction targets, transforming the transportation sector is imperative.
"The Canadian Northern Corridor: Planning for National Prosperity" (with P.G. Forest, Robert Mansell, G. Kent Fellows and Katharina Koch). 2020. School of Public Policy Publications. 13 (28).
We scope out some of the most prominent potential benefits of implementing the corridor concept in Canada to motivate and facilitate the discussion on inter-regional Canadian infrastructure investments.
"Infrastructure Policy Trends: A Canary in Panda's Clothing?" (with G. Kent Fellows). 2020. School of Public Policy Publications 13 (July).
We explore the structure of Canada's trade supply chains and discuss the COVID-19-related disruptions in flow of goods.