Recent Publications
Instead of Carbon Offsets, We Need ‘Contributions’ to Forests
Libby Blanchard, William R.L. Anderegg, Barbara K. Haya. (2024, January 31) Stanford Social Innovation Review. Written in collaboration with the Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy at the University of Utah. https://ssir.org/articles/entry/forest-contributions-carbon-offsets
Because of problems created by the incentive structure for carbon offsets as a mode of climate mitigation, companies should switch to a “contributions” framing to preserve a crucial flow of climate investment.
Pervasive over-crediting from cookstoves offset methodologies
Annelise Gill-Wiehl, Daniel M. Kammen & Barbara K. Haya. (2024). Nature Sustainainability. DOI: 10.1038/s41893-023-01259-6
Cookstove carbon offset projects can progress multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including climate, energy, health, gender, poverty and deforestation. However, project emission reductions must be accurately or conservatively estimated to avoid undermining climate action and long-term SDG financing. Here we conduct a comprehensive, quantitative, quality assessment of offsets by comparing five cookstove methodologies with published literature and our own analysis. We find misalignment, in order of importance, with fraction of non-renewable biomass, firewood–charcoal conversion, stove adoption, stove usage, fuel consumption, stacking (using multiple stoves), rebound and emission factors. Additionality, leakage, permanence and overlapping claims require more research. We estimate that our project sample is over-credited 9.2 times. Gold Standard’s metered methodology, which directly monitors fuel use, is most aligned with our estimates (1.5 times over-credited) and has the largest potential for emission abatement and health benefit. We provide recommendations to align methodologies with current science and SDG progress.
You can find a summary of our findings, specific guidance for credit buyers and project developers, along with a list of quality cookstoves offset projects here: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/centers/cepp/projects/berkeley-carbon-trading-project/cookstoves
Improving Mental Health of Adolescent Girls in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Causal Evidence from Life Skills Programming
with S. Baird, J. Seager, B. Avuwadah, J. Hamory, S. Sabarwal, and A. Vyas, in the Journal of Human Resources.
This study provides causal evidence on the impact of life skills programming on the mental health of adolescent girls aged 10-19 in three distinct low- and middle-income countries: Tanzania, Bangladesh, and Ethiopia. Life skills interventions significantly improved a component of mental health in all three contexts, with reductions in depression in Tanzania, and improvements in socio-emotional development in Bangladesh and Ethiopia. However, findings suggest substantial heterogeneity in impact. Programs that target both adolescent boys and girls appear more effective than those that target girls alone, and existing supportive environments are a necessary condition for programs to improve mental health.
US Universities Face a Red Tide and a Precipice: A Neo-Nationalism and Universities Brief
US Universities Face a Red Tide and a Precipice: A Neo-Nationalism and Universities Brief by John Aubrey Douglass, CSHE.14.2023 (November 2023) CSHE Research and Occasional Papers Series (ROPS).
Here and Abroad, Universities Face an Autocratic Playbook
Here and Abroad, Universities Face an Autocratic Playbook, Academe (AAUP Publication), November 2023
Creating a Great Public University: Shared Governance at UC
Creating a Great Public University: Shared Governance at UC - CSHE 4. 2023 (October 2023)
Since establishing itsfirst campus in 1868,the University of California (UC), California’s land-grant university,developed into the nation’s first multi-campus systemin the United States,andistodaywidely recognized as the world’s premier network of public research universities. This short essay provides anhistorical brief on the role that shared governance, and specifically the role of the Academic Senate, playedin creating an academic culture of excellence and high achievementin pursuing itstripartite mission of teaching and learning, research and knowledge production, and public service. A key component in understanding the critical role of the Senate in UC’sevolution from a single campus in Berkeley to now a ten-campus system is the university’sunusual designation as a public trust in the state constitution that, beginning in 1879,protected the university at critical times from external political pressuresand allowedthe university to develop aninternal academic cultureguided by the Academic Senate. By the 1920s, the emergence of California’s unique and innovative public system of higher education, with UC as the sole public provider of doctoral degrees and state funded research, also helps explain the ability of the UC system to maintain itsmission and formulate what is termed aOne Universitymodel. The Academic Senate hascreatedcoherencyand shared valueswithin UC,and a culture and expectationfor faculty performance that is unique among universitiesaroundthe world. Thisessay also offersa brief reflection on the Academic Senate’spast influence, its current status,and prospective role. Theoverallintent is to provide context forthe current academic community and higher education scholarsregarding the past and future role of faculty in university governance and management, and what distinguishes UC in the pantheon of major research universities.
Creating a Great Public University: The History and Influence of Shared Governance at the University of California
Creating a Great Public University: The History and Influence of Shared Governance at the University of California by John Aubrey Douglass, CSHE 4. 2023 (October 2023), CSHE Research and Occasional Papers Series (ROPS)
Since establishing its first campus in 1868, the University of California (UC), California’s land-grant university, developed into the nation’s first multi-campus systemin the United States, and is today widely recognized as the world’s premier network of public research universities. This short essay provides a historical brief on the role that shared governance, and specifically the role of the Academic Senate, played in creating an academic culture of excellence and high achievementin pursuing itstripartite mission of teaching and learning, research and knowledge production, and public service. A key component in understanding the critical role of the Senate in UC’s evolution from a single campus in Berkeley to now a ten-campus system is the university’s unusual designation as a public trust in the state constitution that, beginning in 1879, protected the university at critical times from external political pressures and allowed the university to develop an internal academic culture guided by the Academic Senate. By the 1920s, the emergence of California’s unique and innovative public system of higher education, with UC as the sole public provider of doctoral degrees and state funded research, also helps explain the ability of the UC system to maintain its mission and formulate what is termed a "One University" model. The Academic Senate has created coherency and shared values within UC, and a culture and expectation for faculty performance that is unique among universities around the world. This essay also offers a brief reflection on the Academic Senate’s past influence, its current status, and prospective role. The overall intent is to provide context forthe current academic community and higher education scholars regarding the past and future role of faculty in university governance and management, and what distinguishes UC in the pantheon of major research universities.
Little evidence of management change in California’s forest offset program
Jared Stapp, Christoph Nolte, Matthew Potts, Matthias Baumann, Barbara K. Haya, Van Butsic. (2023). Communications Earth & Environment. https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-00984-2
Carbon offsets are widely promoted as a strategy to lower the cost of emission reductions, but recent findings suggest that offsets may not causally reduce emissions by the amount claimed. In a compliance market, offsets increase net emissions if they do not reflect real emission reductions beyond the baseline scenario. Few studies have examined the additionality of forest carbon offsets within California’s U.S. Forest Projects compliance offset protocol, one of the largest forest offset programs in the world. Here we examine additionality in California’s offset protocol. Since 2012, most of California’s offset credits (84%) have been awarded to improved forest management projects. Using a database of improved forest management project characteristics, locations, and remotely sensed forest disturbance data indicative of management activity, we find that projects have been primarily allocated to forests with high carbon stocks (127% higher than regional averages) and low historical disturbance (28% less disturbance than regional averages since 1985). A matching and panel regression analysis failed to show additionality, as project creation did not significantly lower disturbance rates 3 and 5 years after project implementation relative to similar non-project lands. These results indicate that California’s forest offset protocol may contribute to an increasingly large carbon debt.