Harvard University has opened applications for scholarships in the Sustainability Sciences program. The openings are exclusively for doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, and mid-career fellows. Interested applicants must submit their applications by February 2015. Results will be announced one month later.
Sustainability Science Fellowships at Harvard University
Doctoral, Post-doctoral, and Mid-career Fellowships
Due date for applications: February 2, 2015
The Sustainability Science Program at Harvard University invites applications for resident fellowships in sustainability science for the academic year beginning in September 2015. This year’s competition is focused on three thematic areas related to energy and sustainability. We are seeking applications focusing on: 1) decarbonizing energy systems in the European Union; 2) designing, developing, and/or implementing sustainable energy technologies and policies in China; and 3) the impacts of fossil fuel subsidies on economic, environmental, and health indicators and the actions that can be taken to reduce them. The fellowship competition is open to advanced doctoral and post-doctoral students, and to mid-career professionals engaged in research or practice to facilitate the design, implementation, and evaluation of effective interventions that promote sustainable development. The thematic areas are led by Professors Henry Lee and Joseph Aldy. The Program is also open, however, to strong proposals in any area of sustainability science. In addition to general funds available to support this fellowship offering, special funding for the Giorgio Ruffolo Fellowships in Sustainability Science is available to support citizens of Italy, China, or developing countries who are therefore especially encouraged to apply. For more information on the fellowships application process see http://www.hks.harvard.
Sustainable Energy and the European Union
Faculty leader: Henry Lee, Jassim M. Jaidah, Director of the Environment and Natural Resources Program
Faculty co-leaders: Laura Diaz Anadon, William Clark
This thematic area explores policies to aid in decarbonizing energy in the EU in view of the 2030 Framework for Climate and Energy Policy to be decided in October 2014. The EU is considering more ambitious targets for renewable energy options and increased energy efficiency goals for reducing greenhouse gases by 2030. Fellows are expected to work on the sustainability of renewable energy supply chains in the EU, from inception to commercialization. The overall renewable energy life cycle can be considered in its entirety, or the research can focus on a specific stage. The program is particularly interested in analyzing renewable energy sustainability in EU economies that have traditionally lagged behind other member states, as well as the challenges and opportunities to expand the deployment and use of those technologies.
Sustainable Development of the Energy Sector in China: Challenges and Options
Faculty leader: Henry Lee, Jassim M. Jaidah, Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program
Faculty co-leaders: Laura Diaz Anadon, Venkatesh Narayanamurti
This thematic area addresses the environmental implications of energy policies in China and explores how China can manage these implications. Fellows work to identify and promote policies that will contribute to the thoughtful use of China’s natural resources (e.g., water, air, land) and/or the adoption of cleaner and less carbon-intensive industrial and energy technologies. Research areas include, but are not limited to: analyzing the impact of energy and industrial policies on water scarcity and air pollution; assessing policies to promote a low-carbon energy portfolio and analyzing options to improve energy efficiency and the penetration of alternative energy sources.
Fossil Fuel Subsidies: Impacts, Opportunities, and Challenges to Reform
Faculty leader: Joseph Aldy, Assistant Professor of Public Policy
Fossil fuel subsidies distort the prices for electricity and fuels for a majority of the world’s population. Failing to account for the full social cost of energy – such as human health and environmental damages – results in implicit subsidies of nearly $2 trillion globally each year. In many developing countries, government fossil fuel subsidies compete with potentially socially desirable uses of fiscal resources, such as investments in public health, education, infrastructure, and low- or zero-emitting sources of energy. Nonetheless, pricing energy, and especially fossil fuel-based energy, below its social opportunity cost persists throughout the world and it begs the question: if fossil fuel subsidies are so bad, why are they so common? We are interested in fellows whose research focuses on 1) empirical estimates of the environmental and health impacts of subsidizing fossil fuels in developing countries, 2) the potential fiscal trade-offs associated with fossil fuel subsidies, 3) how pricing energy below cost affects global commodity price levels and volatility as well as incentives for investment in non-fossil energy alternatives, 4) the political economy that supports policies that continue to subsidize fossil fuels in developing countries, or 5) case studies of successful energy price reforms to identify key lessons for informing future reform efforts.
