Hsu’s lab holds companies and governments accountable for their promises at COP27
Editor's note: the following is an excerpt from the original publication in the Well, by the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are often the focus at international conferences about climate change. Countries, coalitions and companies announce pledges and plans to combat climate change, but how do we judge their progress? The 27th United Nations Conference of Parties in Egypt focused on better ways to track how (or if) those promises are being kept.
Angel Hsu, founder and principal investigator of Data-Driven EnviroLab, was a key figure in the November conference’s emphasis on “global stocktaking.” Her lab presented its own assessment of climate action by cities, regions and companies. She was also one of 10 experts contributing to the National Academy of Science’s report on the need for better ways to measure and share data on greenhouse gases.
“One of our biggest recommendations was the need for a type of clearinghouse for decision makers to be able to bring together these different types of information,” Hsu said. “It’s currently very scattershot and everyone’s doing their own thing, and that’s created an incredibly heterogeneous and patchwork landscape of this data.”
Hsu selected 14 students from 45 applicants to go with her to COP27. An assistant professor in public policy and in the environment, ecology and energy program, Hsu was excited to be able to offer the opportunity for them “to see what we discuss in the classroom actually happening in real time.” Hooked since her first climate summit in 2009 in Copenhagen, Hsu called the conferences “a really fantastic culmination, bringing together scientists, policy makers and activists.”
The Well asked Hsu for her take on climate accountability and some of the outcomes of the COP27 conference.
