Expert Q&A on barriers, enablers of climate change mitigation
University of Victoria researcher named lead author for IPCC report
image: Katya Rhodes, professor in UVic’s School of Public Administration, is selected as a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Seventh Assessment Report (AR7), on Chapter 5 Barriers and Enablers to Climate Change Mitigation.
Credit: University of Victoria
Katya Rhodes, professor in University of Victoria’s (UVic) School of Public Administration, is selected as a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) (IPCC), on new chapter of the global assessment that focuses on barriers and enablers to climate change mitigation.
Rhodes is one of the 16 global climate policy experts—announced this week—who will work on economic and political tools to reduce carbon emissions, contained in Chapter 5. The first lead author meetings will take place in December, and IPCC reports are scheduled to be released from mid-2028 onward.
Q Why is it important to study barriers and enablers to reduce climate change?
A. Climate success is possible only if we consider multiple contexts. It isn’t just about stringent policies to cut emissions. Economically, solutions must be affordable and create fair opportunities; otherwise, industries and jobs could suffer. Politically, different countries and constituencies within those countries have competing interests, so policies need to have public buy-in to actually stick. On the technical side, we rely on technologies and infrastructures that shape how people live and travel. Ignoring any of these contexts leads to half-baked solutions. Real progress means weaving them together, so climate action is not only possible but also enduring over the long term.
Q Tell us your specific area of expertise and what are the topics under study?
A. My expertise is distinguished by its interdisciplinary approach—integrating economics, political science, psychology, and engineering—to reduce emissions rapidly without public backlash. In my research, I identify key barriers to climate change mitigation—such as economic costs and political opposition—by evaluating climate policy impacts and public perceptions through energy-economy models and surveys. My work also highlights enablers like “flexible” climate regulations, robust multi-governance frameworks, and effective public engagement, proposing policy pathways that are efficient, politically accepted, and equitable to achieve climate success.
Q This is a new chapter of the IPCC assessment. What is unique about this new section?
A. The chapter represents a new interdisciplinary attempt to integrate economic, political, and socio-technical realities to craft effective and enduring climate solutions. It’ll build on all other discipline-specific chapters and translate the associated findings into a Summary for Policymakers—the most powerful IPCC document that informs all global climate negotiations and national climate policy responses. As such, the team of co-authors consists of interdisciplinary global experts including leading climate policy economists, political scientists, and environmental psychologists from top institutions such as CICERO (Center for International Climate Research) in Norway, IIASA (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis) in Austria, the London School of Economics, and Cambridge. Together, the team will work to accelerate global climate response.