DURHAM, N.C. – Jackson Ewing, director of Asian sustainability at the Asia Society Policy Institute, has been jointly appointed a faculty fellow at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and an adjunct professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy, where he will further environmental research and engagement with Duke Kunshan University. He begins his role Jan. 1.
Ewing has worked throughout Asia with actors in government, the private sector, civil society, and international organizations to carry out policy projects addressing transboundary environmental stresses as well as water, food, and climate challenges.
With Duke, Ewing will strategically plan and implement collaborative research and outreach activities with Duke Kunshan University’s Environmental Research Center and the Nicholas Institute. He will engage U.S. policy makers, business leaders and other key stakeholders to produce research materials and organize U.S.-based activities exploring environmental policy in China.
“The opportunity for policy research to positively impact the environment has never been greater than it is, right now, in China,” said Billy Pizer, Susan B. King Professor of Public Policy at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy and faculty fellow at the Nicholas Institute. “Jackson is the perfect person to leverage resources at the Nicholas Institute and around Duke to do that.”
Ewing will also develop educational activities for the iMEP Program, a new international master’s degree program designed to meet the growing global need for leaders who are versed in both Chinese and international environmental issues and policies. He will partner with faculty at the Sanford School, the Nicholas School of the Environment, and Duke Kunshan University to advise students, teach courses, and grow the program on Duke’s Durham campus.
“Dr. Ewing is an established scholar in international environmental policy with rich experience in academics and think tanks,” said Junjie Zhang, director of the iMEP Program and Environmental Research Center at Duke Kunshan University. “His recent research on carbon market linkage has generated a significant impact on the climate change policy debate. I am sure that the iMEP program will benefit greatly from his research, teaching, and service. He will also help strengthen the link between Duke and Duke Kunshan in the environmental area.”
While based at the Asia Society Policy Institute, Ewing launched and secured funding for the multiyear initiative, “Toward a Northeast Asian Carbon Market,” which brings together leading regional and global experts and practitioners to discuss how China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea can collaborate on their carbon pricing policies. Through regular convenings, publications, and policy dialogues, the initiative is moving these issues up the regional agenda. With Asia Society President Kevin Rudd, Ewing also helped to advance global climate change negotiations on the Paris Agreement, and toward the implementation of sustainable development goals on water and sanitation.
“Duke’s bold effort to advance US-China dialogue and policy progress on key environmental issues is impressive and timely,”said Ewing. “It’s something I immediately wanted to be a part of, and I’m excited and humbled to take on the responsibility of advancing collaborative research and teaching between Duke in Durham and Duke Kunshan.”
Prior to joining the Asian Society, Ewing led the Environment, Climate Change, and Food Security Program at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS). In this role, he created an integrated model of Asia-Pacific regional resource systems in use by governments and the private sector. He’s continued work with RSIS as a fellow, advising the Singapore ministries of Environmental and Water Resources, Foreign Affairs, and Trade and Industry on environmental, food, and energy trends and policies. Among other outcomes, this worked helped inform 2014 Singaporean legislation addressing transboundary haze issues.
Ewing holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the College of Charleston and both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in international relations from Bond University.
