Angel Hsu holds net-zero pledgers accountable

As a graduate student at Yale University, Angel Hsu traveled to Copenhagen for the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or the Convention of the Parties 15.

“COP 15 completely changed my worldview,” Hsu said. “Why does the U.N. matter? Because it convenes stakeholders — activists, business leaders, local governments, Indigenous groups, academics and policymakers. The U.N. feels very far away from us as people, but it matters.”

Attending COP as a student infused purpose into Hsu’s research. Since then, she has delivered two TED Talks, provided expert testimony to the U.S. Senate, co-authored and contributed to two U.N. reports, served on the National Committee on U.S.–China Relations and become a renowned expert in climate research and sustainability.

An associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ public policy department and the environment, ecology and energy program at UNC-Chapel Hill, Hsu is the founder and director of the Data-Driven EnviroLab. She takes students to COP every year.

“UNC-Chapel Hill is a registered observer organization at COP,” Hsu said. “That is an honor and a privilege. There are so many other universities throughout the world that don’t have this opportunity. That’s why I take students every time I go — because I know how life-changing the experience is for students.”

COP is the world’s only multilateral decision-making forum on climate change, involving nearly every country. Hsu’s Data-Driven EnviroLab, which goes by the initials DDL, is an interdisciplinary research group focused on quantitative approaches to environmental issues, providing important research to COP climate negotiators.

“There is not a lot of accountability because private actors, in many cases, are not being regulated by governments, so the voluntary pledges that they make are not actually enforced,” she said. “The DDL’s data on the Net Zero Tracker have shown that fossil fuel companies are the most active in pledging that they’re going to go net zero, but none of them has a plan to transition away from fossil fuels. We are trying to provide that accountability.”

Following COP 28, students who attended the conference took part in panel discussions about their experiences and the state of climate policy. According to Hallie Turner ’24, one of the organizers of the event, the purpose of the panel discussion was to “make a complicated series of negotiations engaging and accessible to all who are curious.”

Hsu believes climate policy must extend beyond governments to involve nonstate actors, and that people around the world should understand how their lives are affected by climate change.

Last year, Hsu collaborated with researchers at National University of Singapore, one of Carolina’s four strategic partners, on urban heat management. NUS researchers use Digital Urban Twins, advanced 3D models that simulate various climate scenarios. The tool allows researchers and policymakers to evaluate interventions before implementing them. According to Hsu, urban heat management, such as building modifications and cooling, is hugely important to North Carolina.

“I was really trying to learn from colleagues in Singapore,” Hsu said. “What are they modeling? What questions are they asking? How are they approaching urban heat management?”

The DDL is applying these techniques used in Singapore in the Research Triangle. Through cross-disciplinary collaboration, the DDL aims to address heat stress disparities and promote environmental justice, contributing to the development of resilient, sustainable cities — in North Carolina and worldwide.

“We’re never going to solve the problem if people are not talking about it,” Hsu said. “We need to be having these conversations every single day. Climate change — including climate solutions — needs to be part of our consciousness.”