SOAS, University of London (The School of Oriental and African Studies)

Teaching

Programme Director: Environmental Management

Module convenor:

• C124 Climate Change and Development
• C200 Environmental Science and Management
• C207 Environmental Assessment
• C208 Environmental Auditing and Environmental Management Systems

Research

Dr. Frauke Urban works on the linkages between energy, climate change and development, especially climate change mitigation, low carbon development and energy policy. Her main regional interest is Asia, particularly China, India and Southeast Asia. She also works on China’s rise and its environmental implications in low and middle income countries.

Frauke’s new textbook “Low Carbon Development: Key Issues” has been published in March 2013 by Earthscan, Routledge. “Low Carbon Development: Key Issues” is the first comprehensive textbook to address the interface between international development and climate change in a carbon constrained world. It discusses the key conceptual, empirical and policy-related issues of low carbon development and takes an international and interdisciplinary approach to the subject by drawing on insights from across the natural sciences and social sciences whilst embedding the discussion in a global context. Details of the book can be found here: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415539012/

She is a guest editor for the journal Environment, Development and Sustainability for the special issue “China as a new shaper of international development: The environmental implications”. Details of the special issue can be found here: http://link.springer.com/journal/10668/15/2/page/1

Frauke is the Principal Investigator for the project “China goes global: a comparative analysis of the impacts of Chinese hydropower dams in low and middle income countries”. The project is funded by the Economics and Social Research Council ESRC under their Rising Powers Scheme. Rapid economic growth in China has created a series of pressures, such as the depletion of scarce domestic resources. This has meant that China is now engaging more closely with a number of low and middle income countries in Asia and Africa. China is today the world’s largest player in large hydropower dam projects, usually backed by state finance and state-owned enterprises. The project explores the environmental, social, economic and political impacts of China’s engagement in large dams in Cambodia, Ghana, Malaysia and Nigeria through fieldwork and document and data analysis. Time frame: 2012-2015.

Frauke also works on the project 'Technological Trajectories for Climate Change Mitigation in Europe, China and India' funded by the Svenska Riksbanken Jubileumsfond and the Volkswagen Foundation. The project is driven by the need to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions leading to climate change through technological innovation. The project addresses two questions: a) how and why do the emerging technological trajectories for climate change mitigation in Europe, China and India differ, and b) what are the implications for strategies of international competition and cooperation at the enterprise and government level. The research is being carried out by conducting empirical analysis on two sectors: wind energy and electric vehicles. Time frame: 2011-2013.

Frauke has led and contributed to a wide range of research projects and consultancies at IDS before joining SOAS, including being the Principal Investigator for an ESRC-funded network grant on China as a new ‘shaper’ of international development. Other work at IDS included projects on low carbon development, energy policy and climate change mitigation in developing countries funded by DFID, CDKN, CAFOD, Oxfam, Climate Strategies, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the British Academy. For her PhD at the University of Groningen, Frauke conducted research on transitions to low carbon energy as climate change mitigation options for China and India, which was funded by the Ubbo-Emmius-Foundation.

Expertise

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Available for

Regional Expertise

• South East Asia

Country Expertise

• China
• India
• Malaysia

Languages

• Dutch
• English
• French
• German

Publications