Data-Driven Research to Improve Global Sustainability

The Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, a joint research initiative between Yale School of the Environment and Yale Law School, welcomes applicants who are enthusiastic about researching data-driven environmental policies, the international spillover of environmental degradation, and sustainable finance. Research assistants will work with Professor Daniel Esty, director of the Center and an internationally-renowned environmental policy expert, to advance research on environmental metrics, green corporate strategy, and sustainable development. Further details on the Center’s summer projects are included below.

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI). The EPI is a biennial analysis that ranks 180 countries on 32 environmental issues like climate change, environmental health, and biodiversity. These indicators track trends in environmental performance and provide scorecards on how close countries are to meeting established environmental targets. Our transparent and robust analyses provide practical guidance for countries that aspire to move toward a sustainable future. Research assistants will work with Professor Esty and Dr. Martin Wolf to develop new metrics that quantify global trends in critical environmental issues like climate change, air pollution, biodiversity, and sustainable agriculture. Depending on the research assistant’s interests and background, possible research tasks include:

• Geospatial and statistical analyses of global and subnational data;
• Exploration of the racial inequities of environmental degradation;
• Ranking countries based on environmental impacts and performance;
• Performing literature reviews and assisting in writing manuscripts on issues relating to sustainable development.

Global Commons Stewardship Index (GCS Index). Scientific evidence is clear: unsustainable resource use, destruction of nature, and pollution are changing the climate and other critical Earth systems. By damaging the Global Commons, humanity has the power to undermine life on earth as we have known it for millennia. Major and rapid transformations of energy, production, and consumption systems require data and metrics to guide better policies. The GCS Index is an annual composite index of the latest breakthroughs in sustainability indicators, focusing attention on how countries are affecting the Global Commons both within their borders and through impacts embodied in trade and consumption (so-called “international spillovers”). We launched the first edition this past December and are working to expand it for the 2022 version (https://resources.unsdsn.org/global-commons-stewardship-index-2021(link is external)). Research assistants will work with Dr. Reed Miller and partners at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network to prepare the 2022 GCS Index. We aim to complete our data analysis by mid-summer and then focus on compiling an expanded report. Possible research tasks include:

• Identifying and exploring trends and anomalies in the data;
• Preparing clear and compelling charts and figures;
• Drafting and editing the report.

Yale Initiative on Sustainable Finance
Through applied research and multidimensional collaboration, YISF seeks to answer some of the most challenging questions facing investors interested in sustainability. YISF particularly aims to produce fresh thinking and cutting-edge research on the challenges to integrating sustainability concerns into financial markets and investment decisions. YISF also produces conceptual frameworks, empirical analyses, market guidance, and policy recommendations related to the integration of sustainability concerns into financial markets and capital allocation processes. YISF research is academically rigorous, theoretically grounded, and action-oriented. It focuses on illuminating barriers to and identifying incentives for, steering the flow of capital toward more sustainable enterprises and projects. YISF also aspires to help refine the legal rules and procedures required to enhance the focus on sustainability in financial markets and the world of investment more broadly. As a joint initiative between the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy (YCELP) and the Yale Center for Business and the Environment (CBEY), YISF research addresses sustainable finance from a variety of fields, including economics, finance, accounting, environmental sciences, social sciences, and law. Research assistants will work with Nathan de Arriba-Sellier and Dr. Todd Cort on projects seeking to uncover new investment-grade key performance indicators on ESG performance, particularly intangible value metrics and ESG-aligned long-term strategy metrics. Possible research tasks include performing literature reviews, conducting statistical and data analyses, and assisting in writing and proofreading papers.