The Environmental Defense Fund is inviting applications for a cohort of 4 Post-Doctoral Fellows to work on its Nature-based Climate Solutions (NbCS) project. Two of these fellowships are suited for Ph.D. Economists. The overall intent of this project is to address two of the largest barriers to effective carbon credit markets: lack of clear scientific understanding and consensus on the realizable carbon storage or removal potential of the vast array of natural carbon sinks, and lack of market confidence in the integrity of carbon credits available for purchase. The project focuses on natural climate solutions where the acceleration of carbon storage can be achieved most quickly because of the scale of the potential storage and the current interest in those credits. These include the management, use, and protection of tropical and temperate forests, agricultural soils, and oceans.
The POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP ON CARBON STORAGE ECONOMICS AND POLICY is a two-year program, based in EDF’s New York office (but is open to other locations and remote postings). The selected candidate will conduct research and analysis on different approaches to the creation of high-integrity tropical forest carbon credits, with a particular focus on jurisdictional and nested approaches relative to independent smaller projects. Beginning by synthesizing and refining existing work, this will include analysis of the environmental integrity (e.g., uncertainty, additionality, permanence), costs, administrative feasibility, as well as likely supply and co-benefits under different approaches. The fellow will convene and connect with experts to help assess existing knowledge – identifying points of difference, resolving them where possible, and otherwise understanding the implications of these differences in perspective or beliefs. The focus will be on international compliance and voluntary markets, with both countries and companies as potential credit buyers. The geographic focus will initially be on Brazil and may expand to one other country.
Requirements
- A recent Ph.D. in economics, agricultural economics, or related policy discipline with an interest in working at the interface of economics and policy.
- Strong skills in applying economic principles to policy design and evaluation.
- Strong analytical, statistical, and synthetic skills.
- Demonstrated record of economic research.
- A track record of high-quality published research, the leadership of a collaborative research project, and presentations at conferences.
- Superior oral and written communication and networking skills.
- Familiarity with tropical deforestation and climate policy.
- Interest in and demonstrated capacity for translating economic theory into real-world applications and practice.
- Ability to work with and communicate effectively with researchers and policy stakeholders.
- Ability to work as a member of a highly collaborative team in a fast-paced environment.
- Proficiency in spoken and written English is required. Other language skills are a plus.
Application Details
- A CV
- A letter of interest
- Any publication relevant to the project
The POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP ON AGRICULTURAL SOIL CARBON STORAGE is a two-year program based in EDF’s Washington, D.C. office, but is open to other locations and remote postings. The selected fellow will conduct research and analysis of social and economic constraints on realizing the full biophysical potential of carbon storage in agricultural soils. The overall intent of this project is to address two of the largest barriers to effective carbon credit markets: lack of clear scientific understanding and consensus on the realizable carbon storage or removal potential of the vast array of natural carbon sinks, and lack of market confidence in the integrity of carbon credits available for purchase. The research will initially focus on the midwestern U.S. corn/soy landscape, then expanding to cover the contiguous US and potentially 1-2 other countries. The fellow will analyze datasets, identify and convene experts to develop specific questions for spatial analysis, and develop spatial syntheses to estimate the realistic scale of this nature-based climate solution. Results will be integrated with the spatial estimates of biophysical soil Carbon storage on existing data platforms. The resulting syntheses and conclusions will provide the basis for publications and for sound policy development to enable global net-zero emissions by 2050.
Requirements
- A recent Ph.D. in geography, agricultural economics, or related science interested in working at the interface of science and policy.
- Strong spatial analytical, statistical, and synthetic skills.
- Demonstrated record of scientific work.
- A track record of peer-reviewed publications, a research project’s leadership, and presentations at scientific conferences.
- Superior oral and written communication and networking skills.
- Familiarity with nature-based climate solutions.
- Interest in and demonstrated capacity for translating scientific theory into real-world applications and practice.
- Ability to work with and communicate effectively with researchers and non-scientists.
- Ability to work as a member of a highly collaborative team in a fast-paced environment.
Application Details
- A CV
- A letter of interest
- Any publication relevant to the project
POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP ON OPEN OCEAN CARBON STORAGE will evaluate and quantify open ocean biogeochemical cycles and ecological relationships to the scope and scale blue carbon sequestration potential in the deep sea. The position is a two-year post-doctoral fellowship that is based in EDF’s Boston office or San Francisco office but is open to other locations and remote postings. The fellow will identify, convene and collaborate with experts to develop an initial scientific consensus on the status of knowledge, priorities for improved scientific understanding, and preliminary recommendations related to the potential benefits and the risks of possible interventions to accelerate the ocean biological pump. In addition to individual research products and publications, the fellow will work with members of the EDF Oceans Science Team to draft an initial strategy for EDF engagement on oceanic blue carbon and work to build partnerships and constituencies for high-quality ocean carbon storage.
Requirements
- A recent Ph.D. in oceanography, marine biology, or related science with an interest in working at the interface of science and policy.
- Strong spatial analytical, statistical, and synthetic skills.
- Demonstrated record of scientific work.
- A track record of peer-reviewed publications, leadership of a research project, and presentations at scientific conferences.
- Superior oral and written communication and networking skills.
- Familiarity with nature-based climate solutions.
- Interest in and demonstrated capacity for translating scientific theory into real-world applications and practice.
- Ability to work with and communicate effectively with researchers and non-scientists.
- Ability to work as a member of a highly collaborative team in a fast-paced environment.
- Willingness to travel.
Application Details
- A CV
- A letter of interest
- Any publication relevant to the project
POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP ON CARBON STORAGE- TEMPERATE FOREST will work collaboratively with other scientists to research the potential for enhanced carbon storage opportunities in temperate forests. The position is a two-year post-doctoral fellowship open to a remote posting, but preferences are for Fellows to be near or based in a U.S. city with an EDF office. For a list of locations, please see here.
The fellow will focus on developing estimates for realistic forest carbon storage opportunities and methods for quantifying the net climate impact of a range of forest landscape conservation and management alternatives. The results will inform policy and markets for high-quality forest carbon credits. This effort will involve collaborating with a diversity of scientists involved in understanding forest carbon stock changes at varied spatial scales. It will also involve collaborating with a range of civil society organizations interested in the management of forest resources as a climate mitigation tool as well as a source of sustainable forest products. The resulting insights will provide the basis for publications and for strengthening policies that enable global net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Requirements
- A recent Ph.D. in forestry, forest ecology or a related discipline with relevant scientific training and related professional experience
- Experience with forest carbon dynamics, forest management, forest growth modeling, geospatial analysis
- Strong quantitative skills (modeling, programming, statistical analysis, GIS) and a commitment to rigorous scientific analysis
- A track record of peer-reviewed publications, leadership of a research project, and presentations at scientific conferences
- Demonstrated excellence in oral and written communication of scientific concepts to both technical and general audiences
- Interest in real-world application of scientific theory, and comfort with communicating research findings and concepts with various stakeholders in government, industry, international organizations, etc.
- Intellectual agility and comfort with working across disciplines and learning new skills
- Ability to work independently, manage time efficiently
- A strong commitment to and skill set in collaborative research and analysis both within EDF and with outside organizations and institutions
- Interest in interpreting research findings for policy applications
- A passion for environmental protection
- Willingness to travel
For further information on the fellowships, send an email to fe*********@ed*.org .
