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Alex Clark

Alex Clark

DPhil Candidate in Energy and Economics, University of Oxford
Alex is a DPhil (PhD) candidate at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, where his research focuses on the identification and transmission of fossil-fuel related stranded asset risks in the public sector, and how governments and their agents (particularly state-owned enterprises) should respond to these risks, with a particular focus on China. Alex is also the outgoing director of the GeoAsset Project, (formerly Asset-level Data Initiative) an Oxford-led research programme within the Spatial Finance Initiative aiming to develop public asset-level datasets for use by the research community and financial sector.

Alex is participating in Smith School work supporting a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, submitting recommendations to the Spanish parliament and presenting to parliamentarians and parliamentary staff from 14 American countries with fellow Smith School researcher Brian O'Callaghan. More recently he presented to the Chopsticks Club on the sustainability challenges facing China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Other research interests include: (i) understanding the linkages between sustainable financial instruments and their effects on the real economy; (ii) the design of policy instruments to support the scale-up of green hydrogen and ammonia in the UK, with a focus on industrial processes and green shipping.

Alex works as a consultant to the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia University, working with Philippe Benoit on issues relating to economic analysis of high-carbon power generation investments, and the role of state-owned enterprises in accelerating the low-carbon transition.

Alex is also a consultant to the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), a non-profit organisation focused accelerating investment in low-carbon and resilient solutions in the developing world. At CPI, Alex focuses on supporting CPI's climate finance tracking work. Prior to returning to Oxford, Alex spent two years in San Francisco as a climate finance analyst with CPI. He co-led a study on implementing alignment with the Paris Agreement for members of the International Development Finance Club; led data development and processing for the 2019 Global Landscape of Climate Finance; and supported the development of PAYS for Clean Transport, a financial mechanism for accelerating electric bus deployment with the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance. He has worked with clients including the Green Climate Fund, ClimateWorks Foundation and European Climate Foundation.

Alex holds an MSc in Global Governance and Diplomacy from Oxford, and is a former holder of the Henry Fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where he focused on energy geopolitics and policy, electric mobility and international law. He holds a BA from Warwick University in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and has also studied at Sciences Po in Paris.

With Dr Thomas Hale, Alex co-ordinates Galvanizing the Groundswell of Climate Actions (GGCA) a network of researchers and advocacy organisations supporting non-state contributions to the formal climate negotiation process. He is also Senior Advisor to the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network - Youth (SDSN Youth). He represented SDSN Youth at the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals Summit, and Young European Leadership at the COP21 and COP22 climate change negotiations.

Alex has worked with several organisations including the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Birmingham Food Council (covering food crime, food poverty and the economic costs of poor diet), Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Digimind, Adam Smith International (on governance programmes in Syria and West Africa); and the UK Parliament's Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI).

Climate Change Series

COP26: here's what it would take to end coal power worldwide

Nov 06, 2021 08:08 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

More than 40 countries have signed an agreement at COP26, the latest UN climate change summit in Glasgow, to phase out coal in electricity generation. The signatories include some of the worlds biggest coal burners:...

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Economy

Why China’s economy has hit a wall

Chinas annual parliamentary meetings in Beijing came to a close on March 11. They were conducted under great pressure: a weak economy and high expectations from both the domestic public and international observers as to...

Vladimir Putin’s gold strategy explains why sanctions against Russia have failed

There are more than 16,000 sanctions imposed against Russia. Yet the Russian economy and war machine grew by 3.6 per cent in 2023 and is projected to grow another 2.6 in 2024. Nearly six per cent of Russias gross...

Mentorship is key to improving social and economic outcomes for Black youth

Black youth in Canada experience poorer educational achievement than other children and youth, which leads to subsequent poor economic outcomes. A series of problems and barriers contribute to poor educational outcomes....

There’s an extra $1 billion on the table for NT schools. This could change lives if spent well

The federal and Northern Territory governments have just made a historic funding announcement of about A$1 billion for schools in the territory. This includes an extra $737.7 million from the federal government and an...

Undersea cables for Africa’s internet retrace history and leave digital gaps as they connect continents

Large parts of west and central Africa, as well as some countries in the south of the continent, were left without internet services on 14 March because of failures on four of the fibre optic cables that run below the...

Politics

China's Commerce Minister to Advocate EV Sector in Europe Amid Subsidy, Tariff Probe

Chinas Commerce Minister Wang Wentao is set to visit Europe in April to address concerns and advocate for the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) industry amid a European Commission investigation into alleged unfair...

Chinese Hackers Target US Officials and Dissidents in Cyber Espionage Scheme

Seven nationals of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) face charges for a long-term cyber espionage campaign targeting political dissidents and officials in the US, marking a significant escalation in international cyber...

SpaceX Builds Spy Satellites for US; Russia Warns of Military Response

Russia has issued a stark warning to the United States, stating that the use of SpaceXs satellites for espionage could render them targets for military action. This follows revelations that SpaceX is constructing a spy...

Deepfakes are still new, but 2024 could be the year they have an impact on elections

Disinformation caught many people off guard during the 2016 Brexit referendum and US presidential election. Since then, a mini-industry has developed to analyse and counter it. Yet despite that, we have entered 2024 a...

Science

How do airplanes fly? An aerospace engineer explains the physics of flight

Airplane flight is one of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century. The invention of the airplane allows people to travel from one side of the planet to the other in less than a day, compared...

The mystery of consciousness shows there may be a limit to what science alone can achieve

The progress of science in the last 400 years is mind-blowing. Who would have thought wed be able to trace the history of our universe to its origins 14 billion years ago? Science has increased the length and the quality...

What is minoxidil, the anti-balding hair growth treatment? Here’s what the science says

Hair loss (also known as alopecia) often affects the scalp but can occur anywhere on the body. Its very common and usually nothing to worry about; about half of Australian men show signs of visible baldness at age 50 and...

Our survey of the sky is uncovering the secrets of how planets are born

When we look out to the stars, it is typically not a yearning for the distant depths of outer space that drives us. When we are looking out there, we are truly looking back at ourselves. We try to understand our place in...

Archeoastronomy uses the rare times and places of previous total solar eclipses to help us measure history

Total solar eclipses have fascinated and terrified people for centuries. Today, we know that total solar eclipses like the upcoming eclipse on April 8 are caused by a cosmic coincidence when the moon comes between the...

Technology

Porsche Recalls 1,000 Taycan EVs Over Battery Issue

Porsche Cars North America Inc. released a recall notice for its Taycan electric car units. Based on the reports, the company issued the recall due to the risk of a short circuit caused by the battery. Porsche recalls...

Shiba Inu Community, Binance Stir Crypto World; Token Burns Fuel Market Surge

In a striking turn of events, the Shiba Inu community has reacted to Binances provocative statement declaring everyone an NFT amidst a significant uptick in SHIB token burns that spurred its market value. The meme coins...

Amazon One App Launches Palm-Scanning Sign Up; Palm Pay Available at Whole Foods, Panera

Amazon now allows users to set up palm recognition for seamless payments at Whole Foods, Panera, and other locations directly from their smartphones. Amazon One Expands with Mobile App for Easy Palm Recognition...

Crypto ATM Installations Set to Skyrocket, Driven by Bitcoin FOMO, CEO Predicts

As the crypto industry anticipates a surge in Bitcoin interest post-halving, Bitcoin Depot CEO Brandon Mintz predicts a significant resurgence in crypto ATM installations worldwide. This optimism follows a decline in 2023...
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