CAPin GHG

 This project has been selected in the IDEX-Université de Paris-NUS call for proposals 2021 for joint research projects. 

Project holders

• Charlotte HALPERN (Sciences Po, CEE, LIEPP) 
• Benjamin CASHORE (National University of Singapore, Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy) 

Project description

The CAPIn GHG project is a 36 months project seeking to examine the selection, uses and effects of GHG inventories in cities in South East Asia and in Europe. Drawing on comparative public policy research, it combines a multilevel analysis of the changes taking place within national case studies and in a context where cities have become significant stakeholders and major drivers for implementing environmental ambitions.

The CAPIn GHG Project seeks to assess the design and implementation strategies of policy makers in relation to a complex science-based instrument that has far reaching consequences in terms of accelerating vital city processes such as energy transitions, transport modernization and real-estate development. The variations observed and commonalities found should, in particular, point to the limits of these policy transfers and the embedded nature of these instruments, that while aimed at reducing CO2 levels, may operate along other specific sectoral logics. Second, it will contribute to current academic debates about persisting regional policy styles in mapping GHG emissions and addressing the climate emergency, while at the same time assessing standardizing dynamics resulting from the circulation of policy instruments and solutions through global policy communities and networks.

Bringing together the knowledge and expertise of LIEPP (Sciences Po & UP) and IESP (LKYSPP, NUS), the CAPIn GHG project sets out to achieve the following objectives :
1) To assess the disconnect between ambitious environmental policy objectives and the way they are made material through local climate plans and the selection of GHG inventories,
2) To account for the disruptive impact resulting from the setup of new services (e.g.,distributed energy), technologies (e.g., H2, electric mobilities) and stakeholders (e.g., global platforms, development entities such as AIIB) and the extent to which GHG inventories account for it;
3) To examine evolving environmental policy capacities (whereas national or local) in relation to setting local climate action plans and select and adjust GHG inventories;
4) To carry out this research in a research framework comparing Asian and European cities, to account for main differences and similarities in local climate action plans and GHG inventories and contribute to current debates about regional policy styles.

The CAPIn Project will provide a unique opportunity for joint collaboration between two institutions currently engaged in a major restructuring of their environmental research and teaching activities.

Project team

• Alvaro ARTIGAS
  Alvaro Artigas is an associate researcher at Sciences Po, CEE and a member of the Cities are Back in Town cluster at the Urban School. He holds a PhD in Political science and has a background in comparative public policy analysis, specializing in sustainable public services and  infrastructure promotion programs. In the context of the CAPin GHG project, his role is to participate in the design of the comparative research project and the data collection strategy, and to assess the possible pathways for further research.
• Sophia NOEL 
  Sophia Noel is a first year master’s student of sociology at the Sciences Po School of Research.  She graduated from the Sciences Po Undergraduate College with a Bachelor’s in Economy and Society.  Her research interests include environmental issues, urban sociology, and spatial analysis.
• Gao PENG 
  Gao Peng is currently a PhD student in public policy at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. He also has a background in international relations. His research interests are in the area of Chinese climate policy and its international implications, EV transitions, and how can technology empower environmental policies.  

The CAPIn GHG project team will attend the 6th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP6) in Toronto :

- Panel "Are cities fit for the climate crisis?", all information available here 

- Panel "Policy analysis to address the climate crisis: the politics of knowledge production for public policy". All information available here

- Roundtable : "Uncovering and Prescribing Thermostatic Institutions for the Climate Crisis: A Research Agenda". All information available here

Four Faced How Sustainability Governance is Failing our Planet and What to Do About it, event organised by the CAPin GHG project team.

Summary of the Merlion Workshop 2024 on Urban Heat Island (UHI) and critical environmental thresholds: comparing the Singapore and the Ile-de-France Region Paris, France, 25-27 September 2024. 

Contact: charlotte.halpern@sciencespo.fr