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IMPORTANT: This Advertiser has requested that applicants MUST be National Residents / Valid Work Permit-holders. Other applicants need not apply.
The Offices of the Chief Scientist and Chief Economist seek two recent Ph.D. recipients — one with expertise in environmental science, the other in environmental economics — for two-year High Meadows Post-Doctoral Fellowships. The Fellows will work collaboratively with other EDF scientists, economists, and program experts to help develop and advocate science-based, economically sound environmental policies. Each Fellow will work in a focus area, suited to their background and interests, from the range of EDF program work: climate, energy, oceans, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems, and human health (http://edf.org). Specific possibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Climate Change. EDF continues to explore and grow our program to mitigate climate change. EDF is active in scientific research and policy arenas and uses sound and rigorous science and economics to serve as the basis for EDF’s advocacy work. Our climate experts, in conjunction with cross cutting programmatic EDF teams, work to keep EDF at the forefront of climate science and economics which strengthens our organization’s policy efforts.
- Remote Sensing and Hydrology. EDF is exploring ways innovative technologies can be used to monitor and verify environmental progress, whether this means reduced water waste, decreased emissions reductions, or agricultural nutrient runoff. EDF seeks to facilitate real environmental change and therefore authenticating those environmental benefits are critical to assuring we are doing are best for the environment. Hydrology and agriculture are two, often interdependent, priority areas for EDF at this time.
- Markets for ecosystem services. The long-term health of our working lands requires that we incorporate the true value of ecosystem services into the calculus of landowners. A sustainable agricultural system will reward farmers for using agricultural practices that sequester carbon, reduce fertilizer runoff, maintain riparian habitat, and so on — with the incentives commensurate with the underlying value of those ecosystem services. However, despite a wealth of academic and popular writing touting the true economic value of our ecosystems, very few such markets have been successfully established due to the public-goods nature of ecosystem services. EDF seeks to advance the creation of ecosystem markets through well-designed regulatory frameworks including “carbon offset” programs, water markets, wetland banks, and other mechanisms. The foundation for this advocacy will be rigorous analysis of the social and economic drivers of land management, along with creative application of economic principles to design new policy mechanisms.
- Incorporating experimental design and behavioral economics into environmental advocacy. EDF’s advocacy in a number of program areas increasingly takes the form of policy interventions that depend on the involvement and participation of specific communities. Examples include fishermen embracing catch shares, farmers in developing countries undertaking agricultural practices that sequester carbon, landowners in Brazil signing up to reduce deforestation rates, and U.S. homeowners adopting energy efficiency measures. In each case, economic incentives can help motivate participation, but are often not sufficient in the case of cultural factors, transactions costs, or behavioral inertia. EDF seeks to draw lessons from behavioral and experimental economics in order to amplify the effectiveness of economic incentives and learn about the effective design of interventions.
- Regulatory structure and emerging technologies in electricity generation. EDF’s Climate and Energy Program seeks to transform incentives in electricity markets to reduce the environmental impacts of electric power generation by encouraging greater energy efficiency, promoting smart grid technologies, and expanding renewable generation. Economic and scientific analysis will be at the core of this initiative: developing new models for electricity regulation that create incentives for energy efficiency and low-carbon generation; understanding the environmental implications of new technologies for extracting energy, generating and storing electricity, and managing electricity demand; and proposing policy frameworks to provide incentives for the development and deployment of new technologies.
- Natural Gas, Toxics, and Wastewater. EDF is dedicated to ensuring that natural gas development provides real and sustained carbon benefits without harming the environment or health of the communities where development is occurring. One key focus area is on impacts from exposure to toxic chemicals and waste products as a result of this development. EDF seeks to broaden its toxicology expertise to ensure that the appropriate safeguards to public health and the environment are realized while also making it possible to reap the positive carbon, mercury, and air pollutants advantages of this fuel as a growing portion of our energy mix.
- Corporate Partnerships. EDF understands that forging partnerships with business are key to finding innovative environmentally beneficial and economically viable solutions to transform entire sectors. Many of the environmental these partnerships have resulted in win-win solutions for the environment and businesses. One outstanding example of this is EDF’s partnership with Walmart where we work with the company to reduce their greenhouse gas pollution and waste and implement energy efficiency measures. Capacity to evaluate innovative engineering and technological solutions will be key to maximizing the potential inherent in these partnerships.
The Post-doctoral Fellows will be based in EDF’s New York City or Boston offices, depending on the focus of the work.
Responsibilities
- To conduct analysis that will lead to the development or refinement of EDF’s position in the area of interest, and make recommendations on approaches for outreach and influencing policy.
- To engage fully in EDF’s advocacy in the Fellow’s area(s) of focus, primarily through rigorous scientific/economic analysis but also by participating in the development of strategy and in outreach to policy makers, other stakeholders, and the interested public.
- To become familiar with and keep up-to-date on the scientific, economic and/or policy literature relevant to their focus areas, and to synthesize and disseminate that information for EDF scientists, economists, lawyers and policy specialists.
- To participate in writing papers for publication in peer-reviewed journals, and reports/fact sheets/blog posts for general audiences on the topic of focus.
- The Fellow is also encouraged to pursue projects and collaborations in her/his own areas of interest.
Qualifications
- A recent Ph.D. in economics or other social sciences, the natural sciences, engineering, or environmental studies, with relevant economic or scientific training and experience.
- A passion for environmental protection, a commitment to rigorous analysis, creativity (and a dose of pragmatism) in the real-world application of scientific theory to practice, and knowledge of relevant environmental policy issues.
- The ability to communicate complex ideas to a general audience in writing and orally.
- On-the-job training will be provided to familiarize the successful candidate with specific issues, media and policy work.
- A Princeton degree is preferred.
Logistics
The Fellowship term is up to two years. Competitive salary with benefits. Questions can be directed to Dr. Steven Hamburg, Chief Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund or Susanne Brooks, Senior Economic Policy Analyst, Environmental Defense Fund.
Applications will be reviewed until suitable candidates are found. Due to the volume of employment applications and queries received, EDF is unable to respond to each application individually. Applicants will be contacted directly if selected as a candidate.
Environmental Defense Fund is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
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