Dr. Katya Rhodes is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Administration and member of the Institute for Integrated Energy Systems at the University of Victoria. She is a recipient of the CUFA BC 2023 Early In Career Distinguished Academic Award.
Dr. Rhodes investigates the topics of low-carbon economy transitions and climate policy design using survey tools, energy-economy models, media and content analysis. She is a member of Canada's Sustainable Development Advisory Council providing policy advice on UN's Sustainable Development Goals in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy. In 2019-2022, she served as President of the Canadian Society for Ecological Economics. Prior to joining the academia, Dr. Rhodes worked in the British Columbia (BC) Climate Action Secretariat where she led greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions modelling and economic analyses for the provincial CleanBC plan. Dr. Rhodes' professional experiences also include the development of clean technology and green jobs databases at the Vancouver Economic Commission, analysis of the provincial policy for the Cumulative Effects Framework in the BC Government, the investigation of public and stakeholder perceptions of BC’s carbon tax at the Pembina Institute, and teaching Environmental Economics at Royal Roads University.
Dr. Rhodes’ current research focuses on the design of effective and politically acceptable climate policies. Her 2022-25 SSHRC Insight grant assesses political costs of achieving Canada’s net-zero emissions target using modelling of climate policy pathways and a national survey of public support for stringent climate policy. As part of her collaborative Swedish Research Council grant, Dr. Rhodes conducts case studies of comparative climate policy successes and implements international surveys to study public beliefs about the co-existence of climate sustainability and economic growth. Her SSRHC Insight Development project explores consumer motivations for adopting low-carbon heating technologies and homeowner preferences for building decarbonization policies using a survey of Canadian homeowners (n=3,804). Dr. Rhodes’ SSRHC Knowledge Synthesis project develops an inventory of energy-economy models available in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors in Canada, to help policy-makers better assess economic and GHG impacts of climate policies. Dr. Rhodes’ UVic-funded project investigates the key design features of ‘flexible’ climate regulations using cross-country comparative policy analyses. Dr. Rhodes’ PICS-funded survey of government officials in the Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities region informs the development of a regional climate plan to accelerate climate action. All research by Dr. Rhodes aims to help policy-makers design targeted climate policy proposals and improve communication techniques to help Canada meet its climate targets.
Dr. Rhodes teaches interdisciplinary courses including ADMN 548 Sustainability Transitions, ADMN 509 Economics for Policy Analysis, and ADMN 581 Quantitative Methods for Public Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation.
Andrew, K., Pardy, A., and Rhodes, E. (2024). The landscape of heat pump adoption in Canada: A market segments approach. Special issue “Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Urban Environments.” Frontiers in Energy Efficiency, 2, https://doi.org/10.3389/fenef.2024.1376070
Arjmand R., Hoyle A., Rhodes E., McPherson M. (2024). Exploring the impacts of carbon pricing on Canada’s electricity sector. Energies, 17(2), 385. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17020385
Hoyle, A., Peters, J., Jaccard, M., and Rhodes, E. (2024). Additional or accidental? Simulating interactions between a low-carbon fuel standard and other climate policy instruments in Canada. Energy Policy, 185, 113919. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113919
Andrew, K., Rhodes, E., and Ebner, M. (2024). Size of government and willingness-to-pay for environmental policy: evidence from a cross-country survey. Journal of Environmental Management, 119601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119601
Veitch, E., and Rhodes, E. (2024). A cross-country comparative analysis of congestion pricing systems to achieve decarbonization goals. Case Studies on Transport Research, 101128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2023.101128
Dordi, T., Webber, O., Rhodes, E., and McPherson, M. (2023). A voice for change? Capital markets as a key leverage point in Canada’s fossil fuel industry. Energy Research and Social Science, 103, 103189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103189
McCurdy, J., and Rhodes, E. (2023). What drives greenhouse gas emissions? An international scoping review of academic studies in 2010–2019. Climate Resilience and Sustainability.http://doi.org/10.1002/cli2.52
McPherson, M., Rhodes, E., Stanislaw, L., Arjmand, R., Saffari, M., Hoicka, C., Xu, R., and Esfahlani, M. (2023). Modeling the transition to a zero emission energy system: A cross-sectoral review of building, transportation, and electricity system models in Canada. Energy Reports, 9, 4380-4400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2023.02.090
Scott, W., Rhodes, E., and Hoicka, C. (2023). Multi-level climate governance: examining impacts and interactions between national and sub-national emissions mitigation policy mixes in Canada, Climate Policy. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2023.2185586
Gransaull, G., Rhodes, E., and Fairbrother, M. (2023). Institutions for effective climate policymaking: Lessons from the case of the United Kingdom. Energy Policy, 175, 113484. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113484
Corbett, M., Rhodes, E., Pardy, A., and Long, Z. (2023). Pumping up adoption: The role of policy awareness in explaining willingness to adopt heat pumps in Canada. Energy Research and Social Science, 96, 102926. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2022.102926
Fairbrother, M., and Rhodes, E. (2023). Climate policy in British Columbia: An unexpected journey. Frontiers in Climate, 4, 1043672. https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2022.1043672
Odland, S., Rhodes, E., Corbett, M., and Pardy, A. (2023). What policies do homeowners prefer for home heating and why? An exploration of policy support in Canada. Energy Policy, 173, 113368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113368
Pardy, A., Rhodes, E., and Jaccard, M. (2022). Charactering air source heat pump market segments: A Canadian case study. Frontiers in Sustainability, 3:983454. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2022.983454
Rhodes, E., Hoyle, A., McPherson, M., & Craig, K. (2022). Understanding climate policy projections: A scoping review of energy-economy models in Canada. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 153(October 2021), 111739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2021.111739
Rhodes, E., Scott, W. A., & Jaccard, M. (2021). Designing flexible regulations to mitigate climate change: A cross-country comparative policy analysis. Energy Policy, 156, 112419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112419
Rhodes, E., Craig, K., Hoyle, A., and McPherson, M. (2021). How do energy-economy models compare? A survey of model developers and users in Canada. Sustainability, 13(1), 5789. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115789
Rhodes, E., Krawchenko, T., Pearce, K., & Shaw, K. (2021). Scaling up local climate action: A survey of climate policy priorities in the Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities region. Canadian Planning and Policy / Aménagement Et Politique Au Canada, 2021(01), 36-69. https://doi.org/10.24908/cpp-apc.v2021i01.14469
Kitt, S., Axsen, J., Long, Z., & Rhodes, E. (2021). The role of trust in citizen acceptance of climate policy : Comparing perceptions of government competence, integrity and value similarity. Ecological Economics, 183, 106958. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.106958
Rhodes, E., Axsen, J., and Jaccard, M. (2017). Exploring citizen support for different types of climate policy. Ecological Economics, 137, 56-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.02.027
Rhodes, E., Axsen, J., and Jaccard, M. (2015). Gauging citizen support for a low carbon fuel standard. Energy Policy, 79, 104-114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2015.01.019
Rhodes, E., Axsen, J., and Jaccard, M. (2014). Does effective climate policy require well-informed citizen support? Global Environmental Change, 29, 92-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.09.001
Rhodes, E., and Jaccard, M. (2013). A Tale of two climate policies: Political-economy of British Columbia’s carbon tax and clean electricity standard. Canadian Public Policy, 39, S37-51.
Rhodes, E., and Horne, M. (2013). Assessing British Columbia’s Carbon Tax Design: Public and Stakeholder Perspectives. In Market Based Instruments: National Experiences in Environmental Sustainability (pp. 159-173), Kreiser, L. Duff, D., Milne, J.E., and Ashiabor, H. (eds.), Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781782548720
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