Researcher
Roman Vakulchuk
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Summary
Roman Vakulchuk is head of the Research Group for Climate and Energy and a Research Professor at NUPI. He holds a PhD degree in economics obtained from Jacobs University Bremen, Germany. He publishes on energy transition, geopolitics of critical materials, climate change, investment policy, business climate, economic transition and integration, trade, good governance and China’s Belt and Road (BRI) infrastructure.
His geographical specialization is Ukraine, the countries of Central Asia, Kazakhstan in particular, Myanmar and the other countries of Southeast Asia. Vakulchuk advised government institutions in Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Europe and consulted more than 30 international organizations (e.g., Norad, the MFA of Norway, Asian Development Bank, Natural Resource Governance Institute, OECD, the World Bank) on economic reform, climate change and energy governance. He speaks English, Russian, Ukrainian, German, French and Norwegian.
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Energy Transition and Central Asia
The OSCE Academy, NUPI and EUCAM are happy to welcome you to an open workshop on new research on critical minerals in the Central Asia, and what role such minerals play in the energy transition.
The Russia Conference 2022: The Russian economy, energy sector and climate change: What now?
At this year's Russia conference, we will take a closer look at the implications of the war in Ukraine for Russia's economy and energy sector.
Seizing the Momentum. EU Green Energy Diplomacy towards Kazakhstan
The relationship between the EU and Kazakhstan has historically been dominated by trade in oil and natural gas. However, the EU’s Green Deal and commitment to reach climate-neutrality by 2050 means that the bloc is slowly but surely reducing foreign non-renewable energy imports. Moreover, energy transitions and halting climate change have become global developments and commitments, enshrined in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Fossil-endowed Kazakhstan has pledged to be carbon neutral in 2060, but its transition policies must pick up speed. Meanwhile, the EU is embarking on a reinvigorated energy diplomacy agenda that should encourage and support other countries to transition towards renewable energy production, export and domestic consumption. This policy brief explores what tools the EU could use to support such transitions and what Kazakhstan could benefit from most. It considers the link with geopolitics and competitiveness and how to overcome obstacles for EU-Kazakhstani renewable energy cooperation, whilst also offering recommendations as to next steps forward.
Funding flows for climate change research on Africa: Where do they come from and where do they go?
Africa has only contributed a small fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions yet faces disproportionate risks from climate change. This imbalance is one of many inequities associated with climate change and raises questions concerning the origin, distribution and thematic prioritization of funding for climate-change research on Africa. This article analyses a database comprising USD 1.51 trillion of research grants from 521 organizations around the world and covering all fields of research from 1990 to 2020. At most 3.8% of global funding for climate-change research is spent on African topics – a figure incommensurate with Africa’s share of the world population and vulnerability to climate change. Moreover, institutions based in Europe and North America received 78% of funding for climate research on Africa, while African institutions received only 14.5%. Research on climate mitigation received only 17% of the funding while climate impacts and adaptation each received around 40%. Except for Egypt and Nigeria, funding supported research on former British colonies more than other African countries. The findings highlight the need to prioritise research on a broader set of climate-change issues in Africa and to increase funding for Africa-based researchers in order to strengthen African ownership of research informing African responses to climate change.
Environmental performance of foreign firms: Chinese and Japanese firms in Myanmar
Little is known about how the environmental approaches of foreign investors in developing countries are formed. The objective of this study is to conceptualize and investigate the drivers of the environmental performance of foreign firms. This is done through a comparative analysis of the environmental profiles of Chinese and Japanese firms in Myanmar. Applying institutional and resource-based theories, the study investigates the complex and multifaceted roles that domestic regulations and internal resources of firms play in their environmental performance. The study contributes to the literature on corporate environmental behaviour by constructing a novel set of environmental variables connected with FDI. The research is based on survey data covering 296 Chinese and 125 Japanese companies operating in Myanmar. The data are analysed using a hierarchical multiple linear regression. It is found that Japanese companies tend to adopt all-inclusive and comprehensive strategies driven by both regulatory pressure and firm capacity when addressing environmental issues, while the environmental choices of Chinese companies tend to be driven by intra-firm resources. For Chinese companies, neither ownership type nor operating in a polluting industrial sector necessarily influence the environmental profile, whereas both of these variables had significant effects on the environmental performance of Japanese firms. The findings indicate that both resource-based and institutional theories are useful when assessing the influence of environmental regulations on FDI in developing countries.