Center for Energy Science and Policy

Learning from each other: Pakistani officials meet with Mason energy experts

Colleen Rich — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 17:29:56 +0000

Learning from each other: Pakistani officials meet with Mason energy experts Colleen Rich Wed, 08/02/2023 - 13:29

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According to the World Bank, some 40% of Pakistanis—about 96 million people—do not have access to dependable electricity, and the demand for power continues to grow. The nation’s declining natural gas supply, lack of investment in new power generation, and corporate and political instability in the energy sector present a continuing, and extremely expensive, existential crisis.

Pakistani energy officials met with CESP leaders, front row from left, Paul Houser, Richard Kauzlarich, and J.P. Auffret. Photo by Mississippi Consortium for International Development.

In late July, George Mason University’s Center for Energy Science Policy (CESP) hosted 10 national and provincial energy and science officials from Pakistan in a meeting sponsored by the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program. The officials’ mission: To learn about U.S. renewable energy and climate policy, in the hopes of improving energy infrastructure in their home country.

During the two-hour meeting held at Mason Square, the officials met with CESP codirectors Ambassador (ret.) and Schar School Distinguished Visiting Professor Richard Kauzlarich, director of research partnerships for the School of Business J.P. Auffret, and College of Science professor Paul Houser.

The request to host the delegation originated with the Mississippi Consortium for International Development, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that works with the State Department in building international partnerships.

The center is part of the Schar School of Policy and Government, and given Mason’s location and the reputation of the CESP for energy policy studies, “in a sense, we were the natural academic institution in the region to host these officials,” Kauzlarich said.

The CESP multidisciplinary team—representing the Schar School, the School of Business, College of Science, College of Engineering and Computing, and Mason’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth, provided a comprehensive picture of Mason’s capabilities. The CESP codirectors detailed Mason's distinctive experience with public–private partnerships in energy infrastructure.

The varied backgrounds of the CESP participants “enabled us to explain what George Mason University is doing as far as research and teaching in energy and water infrastructure activities, including energy-efficiency projects on the Mason campuses,” said Kauzlarich. “We also highlighted efforts at public–private partnerships in renewable energy.”

The Pakistani representatives were impressive, he added, and provided an overview of Pakistan's renewable energy opportunities and challenges and Pakistan's needs. That may lead to expanded cooperation opportunities for Mason in Pakistan.”

In short, “we established good contacts that may prove helpful in strengthening the Mason’s research efforts in climate and renewable energy,” said Kauzlarich.

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New Academic Program Lets Students Design Their Own Energy and Climate Change Policy Area of Emphasis

Andrew J Schappert — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 14:54:02 +0000

New Academic Program Lets Students Design Their Own Energy and Climate Change Policy Area of Emphasis Andrew J Schappert Thu, 08/25/2022 - 10:54

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Richard Kauzlarich

Joel Hicks

Joel Hicks: ‘These courses will be taught by senior-level practitioners in relevant industries and agencies.’ Photo by Buzz McClain/Schar School of Policy and Government

A new interdisciplinary Schar School of Policy and Government curriculum offering will allow students to design their own course of study that addresses global and local challenges involving energy and climate change.

A timely and innovative program, Energy and Climate Policy, is open to graduate students and undergraduates and will launch in Spring 2023.

As part of Schar School’s Center for Energy Science and Policy (CESP), and funded by a recent Provost Curriculum Impact Grant, this new curriculum offers undergraduates and graduates an opportunity to focus on local or international energy and climate policy.

In the local track, students can learn and engage with low-income and marginalized Virginia communities to model greenhouse gases, develop climate mitigation plans, improve community resiliency and sustainability, and work to ensure energy equity and environmental justice.
In the international track, students can learn and engage on issues with senior-level policymakers on geopolitics of energy security, climate change and national security, and clean energy policies for developing countries.

Each track requires four courses, including two “core” courses—a total of 12 credit hours—to complete, with multiple electives available depending on the track the student chooses.

Paul Bubbosh: ‘The mainstay for both programs is the opportunity to work and engage with some of the leading organizations and policymakers in the energy and climate policy area.’

“The mainstay for both programs is the opportunity to work and engage with some of the leading organizations and policymakers in the energy and climate policy area,” said Paul Bubbosh, an instructor in the College of Science and co-director of the Local Climate Action Planning Initiative in the CESP. “Those include environmental advocacy groups, academic think tanks and consultancies, federal, state, and local governments, private sector, and multinational organizations.”

The program is entirely student developed, he added, meaning students have the flexibility to design a program that fits their needs as part of a graduate or undergraduate program.

“We surveyed employers in the field of energy and climate policy about what they most desired in new hires, and based on these findings, we crafted a program that identified two core courses—one on energy policy and the other on energy and climate law, as well as the local and international tracks,” said Joel Hicks, an instructor at the Schar School and a CESP research fellow who helped develop the program.

“These courses will be taught by senior-level practitioners in relevant industries and agencies,” he said. “They will bring real-world experience and expertise to the Mason classrooms.”

CESP co-director Richard Kauzlarich

The program is well-timed, to say the least.

“The new Inflation Reduction Act will jumpstart a massive wave of innovation and energy transition planning, requiring skills from across the academic spectrum,” Hicks said. He also pointed out that employment growth in these fields widely outpace other sectors of the U.S. workforce.

“Jobs related to net-zero emissions made up about 40 percent of total energy jobs in the U.S.,” he said. “Energy job growth outpaced other sectors of the workforce by 30 percent.”

This program appears poised to place Mason students in a more advantageous position with the influx of new spending and job hires, Bubbosh said. “As a former federal government hiring official, I can tell you with confidence that the courses we have developed in the Energy and Climate Policy program will prepare students for these competitive positions.”

Addressing climate change is one of the main reasons Master’s in Public Policy student Tony Striner chose the field of study.

“In my eyes,” he said, “the issue of climate change has two fundamental components: sustainable energy generation and environmental protection. CESP's curriculum addresses both of these areas in a meaningful way. This sort of in-depth analysis from expert practitioners is exactly what I was looking for."

CESP co-director Richard Kauzlarich said the Energy and Climate Change emphasis area will be attractive to students from several of Mason’s colleges, including the Volgenau School of Engineering, the College of Science, the School of Business, School of Integrative Studies, and Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, as well as government and policy majors at the Schar School.

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Mason team tackles climate change in Virginia counties through new three-step initiative

Mariam Aburdeineh — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 17:54:54 +0000

Mason team tackles climate change in Virginia counties through new three-step initiative Mariam Aburdeineh Thu, 12/09/2021 - 12:54

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Joel Hicks

Solving climate change is a grand challenge facing the planet. As more individuals and leaders are recognizing the need to switch to environmentally friendly practices, George Mason University’s Local Climate Change Planning Initiative (LCCPI) is helping make that a reality for counties across Virginia.

“Our vision is to have Mason be the lead university in helping counties that lack the resources and expertise in [addressing climate change] get this done,” said Paul Bubbosh, a 1988 Mason alumnus and adjunct professor at the Schar School and College of Science.

Wealthier counties have funding to mitigate environmental issues, said Bubbosh, who started LCCPI with Schar School adjunct professor Joel Hicks in Fall 2021. Many smaller jurisdictions do not, he said, and they may not have staff for these initiatives.

LCCPI, housed within the Center for Energy Science and Policy, allows Mason to bring in its resources and expertise in modeling, engineering, environmental science, policy law, and more, to provide pro bono services to these counties, Bubbosh said.

Students will play an active role in the initiative’s three-stage process, which the Mason team is piloting in Manassas City.

The first stage, which Bubbosh said takes four to six months, is about gathering data on the county’s emissions footprint and having students conduct inventory modeling.

The next stage involves working with community leaders for a year to develop goals, such as changing streetlights to LEDs or reducing emissions, he said.

“In that process, which involves students leading community meetings with faculty, we begin to educate members of the public about the things they desire,” Bubbosh said. “It’s moving them toward understanding what makes the best, most economical, most practical sense for the community.”

Working at the local level is where critical change can happen, said Bubbosh, who said LCCPI was inspired by his time as a Peace Corps volunteer, when he saw how local communities are impacted by climate change.

That’s why stage three provides heightened value.

Hanna Metuda is one of two undergraduates volunteering with LCCPI. Photo provided.

“Any contractor you hire to do this leaves at stage two,” Bubbosh said. “We want to embed students in internships with the local county to help them implement what they found in stage two.”

“Being in the forefront and crafting creative solutions that could ripple through other communities is really inspiring,” said Hanna Metuda, a senior studying government and international politics. “That Mason is allowing students to be a part of that is exciting…and it gives me hope for our environment.”

Metuda is one of two undergraduates volunteering with LCCPI. She said growing up in the Philippines with the effects of pollution and climate change inspired her environmental drive. While she said she’s excited to apply what she’s learned in the classroom, she understands challenges could arise.

“Students will discover hurdles along the way that no classroom will ever be able to prepare a student for,” Bubbosh said, suggesting some challenges may be insurmountable. “However, that learning experience, even at a loss, is a win for students in terms of practical work experience.”

“It’s about seeing results—not academic exercises—and actually making a difference in someone’s life,” he said.

From left to right: Delegate Rip Sullivan (D-48th) from Manassas, Paul Bubbosh and Ambassador Richard Kauzlarich, Director of Mason's Center for Energy Science and Policy. Photo provided.

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Fall for the Book Event: Klaus Dodds’ The New Border Wars

Andrew J Schappert — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 18:09:48 +0000

Fall for the Book Event: Klaus Dodds’ The New Border Wars Andrew J Schappert Mon, 10/18/2021 - 14:09

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Richard Kauzlarich

The changing nature of national borders will be examined October 22 when Schar School Distinguished Visiting Professor Richard Kauzlarich discusses the book, The New Border Wars: The Conflicts That Will Define Our Future, with the author, Klaus Dodds.

The noon conversation is part of George Mason University’s annual Fall for the Book Festival. The virtual session is free and open to the public but registration is required: bit.ly/3AtHPZq

“I found this book intriguing because of my 40 years of experience in the Department of State and the intelligence community dealing with conflicts and borders,” said Kauzlarich, who, among other accomplishments, was U.S. ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Azerbaijan.

The book, Kauzlarich said, “provides a modern framework for looking at the concept of borders as activities that go far beyond lines drawn on a map. For Dodds, borders are physical, but they are also activities increasingly enabled by technology. Such activity alters the scope and nature of borders, and the orthodox conflicts surrounding them. He also describes the impacts of climate change on people and borders that affect them.”

The interviewer and the interviewee have much in common. At the Schar School, Kauzlarich teaches the geopolitics of energy security and directs the Center for Energy Science and Policy. Dodds is a professor of geopolitics at Royal Holloway, University of London, and has served in an advisory capacity at NATO.

Dodds’ book, the ambassador added, “addresses novel aspects of borders such as cyber, sub-sea, and outer space…The transdisciplinary approach of this book fits in well with Schar School’s future as a transdisciplinary institution that draws on different disciplines and faculty members to address the challenges and disruptions caused by the new border wars.”

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Schar School News October 2021