Dr. Choyon Saha is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change at York University, Toronto. Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), his postdoctoral research focuses on the fundamental decision-making and regulatory processes related to offshore oil exploratory drilling in or proximate to marine protected areas in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. In particular, he examines the process that Canadian regulators use to identify areas of the ocean floor for leasing, specifically the call for bids for oil exploration and development in conserved marine areas of Newfoundland and Labrador. The outcomes of this research aim to assist policymakers in designing stakeholder consultations in a way that will facilitate to resolve conflicts among various marine resources users. Dr. Saha is also a member of the “Equitable Transitions Collaboration” team aiming to identify the barriers and opportunities for the equitable energy transition pathways in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Prior to beginning his postdoctoral position, Dr. Saha conducted his doctoral research that contributes to the development of supply-side climate policy, a novel approach to combat the climate crisis by accelerating international efforts for the transition away from fossil fuels and generating energy from low-carbon sources. In his doctoral dissertation, he explored the barriers, divisions, and disagreements between negotiating parties and groups in UN climate negotiations that restrain the bargaining power and negotiation capacity of the group of least developed countries to advance international policies to restrict the global supply of fossil fuels. Before embarking on his doctoral studies, his master’s research, funded by the Ocean Frontier Institute of Canada, explored how the context of political economy has played a pivotal role in the emergence and evolution of transnational environmental certification schemes and voluntary sustainability standards, which are designed with norms and principles to govern the global aquaculture industry more sustainably. His research also underlined human dimensions of natural disasters and climate change, brick kilning industry’s effects on the environment, and the contribution of social safety net policies to poverty eradication.
He has held various positions in academia, most recently as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Jagannath University, Bangladesh. He worked as an associate coordinator for research in Unnayan Shamannay, one of the leading think tanks in Bangladesh, where he involved in developing and executing policy-oriented projects financed by Concern Worldwide and Irish Aid Department of Foreign Affairs. Prior to joining this organization, he worked as a research officer and research associate in various projects run by development partners and universities in Bangladesh. He has also worked as a policy intern in the Western Environment Center in Newfoundland.
Dr. Saha’s research has published in peer-reviewed academic journals: International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Extractive Industries and Society, Marine Policy, Poverty and Public Policy, Natural Hazards, International Journal of Environmental Studies, Asian Geographer, Aquaculture, and Journal of Social Studies. He is revising a paper, which is currently in the stage of resubmission to Climate Policy. He earned his PhD in Global Governance from the Balsillie School of International Affairs, University of Waterloo. He obtained his MA in Environmental Policy from the Environmental Policy Institute, Memorial University of Newfoundland. He also completed his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Sociology from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. His research interests center on supply-side climate policy and politics, environmental politics and governance, and sustainability governance.