I'm an incoming PhD student at Northwestern University. Prior to Northwestern, I completed a Master's of International Relations degree at the University of Sydney where I wrote my dissertation on the effects of membership in minilateral climate organizations on domestic climate policy ambition. I am currently working on a project on climate clubs and next-generation risk technologies with Prof. Eric Werker and Prof. Joseph Aldy. I previously worked with Prof. Theodore Cosco in his Precision Mental Health Lab at Simon Fraser University.

What influence, if any, do IOs exert on the domestic policy of states? The literature on transnational policy diffusion suggests that there are myriad sources of domestic policy, with IOs being among them. However, the growth in the number of both formal and informal IOs alongside their vastly increased membership since inception forces us to re-examine this relationship. Do all IOs affect domestic policy adoption equally or do specific organizational qualities determine their influence? In the field of climate change, these questions are of vital importance. International collaboration is viewed as vital to reduce emissions. Concurrently, under the Paris Agreement, it is only through domestic policies that emissions reductions can be achieved. Can IOs spur states into action, or is the world at the will of its various national governments? My current research aims to investigate these questions.

On-Going Projects

Can climate clubs speed up the development of next-generation climate risk technologies?

Working Paper

Three decades of effort to reduce human-caused climate change have thus far not broken the unabated growth in carbon dioxide emissions. A broader portfolio of climate risk mitigation strategies – such as carbon dioxide removal and solar geoengineering, complementing decarbonization – will likely be necessary to avoid the most severe impacts of a changing climate. Yet market failures and political barriers have resulted in underinvestment in these emerging technologies. This paper considers the potential for a climate club to counteract the market failures and political barriers and accelerate the development and deployment of such technologies.

Does membership in climate clubs affect domestic policy ambition?

Working Paper

This study critically examines the role of climate clubs in global governance, bridging a notable gap between theoretical assertions and empirical findings. While theoretical discourses extol the potential merits of climate clubs, empirical investigations remain limited, predominantly qualitative, and tailored to the assessment of individual clubs rather than the overarching concept. The research delineates two core hypotheses: firstly, that association with climate clubs enhances domestic policy enthusiasm; and secondly, normative club affiliations exert a more pronounced influence than their bargaining counterparts.

Publications

Neuroimaging and machine learning for studying the pathways from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s Disease: A systematic review
BMC Neurology, 23, 1–18.
Amahdzadeh, M., Christie, G., Cosco, T. D., Arab, A., Mansouri, M., Wagner, K. R. & Moreno, S.

Ageing and mental health in Canada: Perspectives from law, policy, and longitudinal research
Journal of Population Ageing
Cosco, T. D., Randa, C., Hopper, S., Wagner, K. R., Pickering, J., & Best, J. R.

COVID-19, social isolation, and the mental health of older adults: A digital catch-22
JMIR, 23 (5)
Cosco, T. D., Fortuna, K. L., Wister, A., Riadi, I., Wagner, K. R., & Sixsmith, A.

What is the relationship between validated frailty scores and mortality for adults with COVID-19 in acute hospital care? A systematic review
Age and Ageing
Cosco, T. D., Best, J. R., Bryden, D., Davis, D., Wagner, K. R., Arkil, S., & Conroy, S, & Sixsmith, A. .