Data-Driven Lab | Working at the intersection of data and policy

A research roadmap for quantifying non-state and subnational climate mitigation action

A new Nature Climate Change Perspectives peice outlines ways to better account for the greenhouse gas emissions reductions from climate action by local governments, the private sector, and civil society.

How cities are failing to be inclusive - and what they can do about it

On the World Economic Forum blog, Data-Driven director Angel Hsu and Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness founder Kim Samuel discuss the world’s progress towards its goal of fostering sustainable, inclusive cities.

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Unlocking Data to Track Progress Towards Inclusive, Sustainable Cities

On Thursday, Dec. 6 from 3-6 pm at the Courtyard Marriott Katowice, Data-Driven Yale convened an interactive discussion featuring policymakers and practitioners to discuss the role of data in meeting Sustainable Development Goal 11 for sustainable and inclusive urban growth. This event was part of the launch of the Urban Environment and Social Inclusion Index.

Global Climate Action Summit: How Does it Measure Up?

The Sept. 2018 Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, CA engaged more than 5,000 cities, states, regions, companies, investors and civil society organizations on climate change. Hundreds of commitments were made, but does it add up to something beyond action already pledged?

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Blockchain for Climate Action Tracking - Oxford Design Sprint

Can blockchains be used to tackle climate change? A ‘Design Sprint’ brought blockchain experts and enthusiasts together at the Alan Turing Institute in London, to brainstorm the possibilities.

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All Climate Politics Is Local

The emissions reduction pledges of private sector, civil society, city, and regional actors could deliver significant carbon mitigation on a global scale. Angel Hsu and Amy Weinfurter discuss the implications for global climate governance.

Read their piece in Foreign Affairs

Bridging the emissions gap - The role of non-state and subnational actors

Data-Driven Yale director Angel Hsu is a lead author and research associate Amy Weinfurter is a co-author on a new chapter reviewing global climate action research for the UN Environment’s Emissions Gap Report 2018.

Director Angel Hsu Speaks at TED 2018: The Age of Amazement

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Data 2.0: Hacking for Sustainability

Yale-NUS College’s Data Science Initiative partners with Data-Driven Yale and DBS Bank to host Sustainability-focused Hackathon in Singapore March 17.

Data-Driven Yale Wins UN Climate Contest

Data-Driven Yale won the Thematic Award linking Climate Change to other SDGs for research, “Air pollution-induced micro migrations: Impacts on Consumer Spending.”

Yearbook of Climate Actions launched

Data-Driven Yale researchers contribute to UN Framework Convention on Climate Change publication documenting growth of collaborative climate change initiatives.

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Mission 2020: The Climate Turning Point

Data-Driven Yale researchers contributing authors on new report specifying immediate next steps for global climate action.

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Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Developing Countries: Contributions to Reducing Global Emissions

Data-Driven Yale partners with UN Environment and REN-21 to produce the third 1 Gigaton Coalition Report: Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Developing Countries – Contributions to Reducing Global Emissions.

Aligning Sub-national Climate Actions for the Post-Paris Climate Regime

This paper explores the various alignment strategies used to initiate subnational climate actions that exceed national policies.

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From Citizens to Satellites: Third Wave Data Approaches in China

Data-Driven Yale authors a series of white papers exploring the potential of new and innovative data collection strategies to support environmental management in China.

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New Tool Comparing Countries' Environmental Performance Launched

Data-Driven Yale student researchers Udit Jain ’18, Zev Nicolai-Scanio (Choate-Rosemary Hall), and Shreya Shah (MArch ’18) – develop new tool that allows for comparison of environmental results between countries.

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1 Gigaton Coalition Releases Second Report

Data-Driven Yale, partnering with UNEP, REN-21, and the New Climate Institute, co-authors report that finds renewable energy and energy efficiency projects implemented in developing countries from 2005 to 2015 will reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by almost half a gigatonne by 2020.

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Opinion: Big Data has big potential for applications to climate change adaptation

In this piece, Angel Hsu and co-authors examine how “big data” can inform adaptation research and decision-making and outline what’s needed from the adaptation community to maximize this opportunity.

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Data-Driven Yale Contributing Author to 2016 UNEP Emissions Gap Report

Director Angel Hsu contributing author to Chapter 4: Bridging the Gap – Role of Non-State Actors and Reviewer for the 2016 UNEP Emissions Gap Report.

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Data-Driven Yale releases CT Solar Scorecard, ranking 169 towns on residential solar PV performance

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Publication: Track climate pledges of cities and companies

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Angel Hsu Named #Grist50 People Working to Shape Green in 2016

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New Report Analyzes Global Extent of Sub-National and Non-State Climate Actions

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Publication: Reinvigorating International Climate Policy

Angel Hsu, PhD, co-authors article, “Reinvigorating International Climate Policy:A Comprehensive Framework for Effective Nonstate Action,” in the Nov. 2015 issue of Global Policy. The article is available free until February 2016. Click here to download a copy.

Correspondence: China Needs to Come Clean on Carbon Statistics

Angel Hsu, PhD, Kaiyang Xu, and Andrew Moffat argue that China’s lack of transparent carbon emissions data has global implications in a Nature correspondence.

Angel Hsu featured guest on Kojo Nnamdi Show

On Sept. 15, 2015, Angel Hsu, PhD, was a featured guest on the Washington, D.C.-based Kojo Nnamdi Show on National Public Radio. Click here to listen to a recording of the program. Photo by Diego Cambiaso on Flickr.com.

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Paris climate talks need business to move beyond greenwashing

Angel Hsu, PhD, and Amy Weinfurter argue that we should welcome recent commitments by the business sector, but they now need to be converted into tangible progress.

Read the Op-ed in The Guardian

The Data-Driven Environmental Policy Lab (Data-Driven Lab) uses cutting edge data analytics to create solutions to the world’s environmental problems. Launched in 2015, the research group is an interdisciplinary collaboration of policy experts, data scientists, visual designers, and interactive programmers at Yale-NUS College in Singapore and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. The group was founded and is led by Dr. Angel Hsu.

Latest Insights

Can blockchains be used to track climate action?

by Angel Hsu | Dec 14, 2018 | Featured | 0 Comments

While the word ‘blockchain’ has become synonymous with the buzz surrounding the ‘bitcoin’ craze, distributed ledger technologies have a wide range of potential applications, including the possibility to track city, region, and company pledges to reduce emissions,...

Unlocking data to track progress towards inclusive, sustainable cities

by Amy Weinfurter | Dec 13, 2018 | Big data, Urban Index | 0 Comments

“I think data is power --- but, more importantly, data is latent power. To actually unlock it is a tricky exercise.” These comments, from UN Habitat’s Robert Kehew, helped kick off the launch of the Urban Environment and Social Inclusion Index (UESI) on December 6 in...

Sustainable transport in Chinese cities: An interview with Daizong Liu

by Tina Huang | Dec 12, 2018 | China, China Sights, Urban Index | 0 Comments

Sustainable Public Transportation, in particular, public transit system developments, is at the forefront of cities’ efforts to foster inclusive, sustainable development. The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals – which set global targets to guide the world’s...

A laughing matter? Harnessing humor for climate change

by Angel Hsu | Feb 20, 2019 | Climate | 0 Comments

What do Mary Poppins and geo-engineering have in common with respect to climate change? Think about billions of Mary Poppins’ reflective umbrellas, miniaturized and deliberately placed in the earth’s upper atmosphere, to cool us down. It’s a funny image, right? What...

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Number of Climate Actions in Data-Driven Lab Database

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