Teen Science Cafe: From the Rainforest to the UN: How Science Informs Climate Change Policy

Professor Angel Hsu found herself in the lowland jungles of Costa Rica while studying abroad the summer after her freshman year at Wake Forest University, experiencing the beauty of glass tree frogs and sound of howler monkeys, but wondering, “What good is the science I’m discovering, if global warming and deforestation eventually lead to the demise of the rain forest?” This question motivated her to study climate change policy when she returned to the classroom. In this interactive talk, Prof. Hsu will talk about how science informs policy, drawing on her experience at the frontlines of international climate change policy.

About the speaker: Angel Hsu is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy and the Environment, Ecology and Energy Program at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She is the Founder and Principal Investigator of Data-Driven EnviroLab, an interdisciplinary group that uses emerging technologies and data-driven approaches to solve problems related to climate change policy. Angel previously held appointments at Yale-NUS college in Singapore as Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and was also the lead author of the 2018 UNEP Emissions Gap report chapter on non-state actors and an author for the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report. Angel holds a PhD in Forestry and Environmental Studies from Yale University, an M Phil in Environmental Policy from the University of Cambridge, and a BS in Biology and BA in Political Science from Wake Forest University.