Central European - 2 years ago

CEU alumnus Daniel Muth, who graduated with a PhD from the university’s Doctoral School of Political Science, Public Policy and International Relations in 2022, has been named the National Champion of Hungary in the second edition of the Frontiers Planet Prize for research he conducted at CEU. His award-winning article, “Pathways to stringent carbon pricing: Configurations of political economy conditions and revenue recycling strategies. A comparison of thirty national level policies” published in Ecological Economics in December 2023, examines how to design environmentally effective and politically appealing carbon pricing policies.  The Frontiers Planet Prize recognizes breakthroughs in Earth system and planetary sciences addressing societal challenges to living within the safe boundaries of the planet’s ecosystem. Muth is one of 23 National Champions from around the world selected by a jury of planetary health and Earth system science experts. The prize centers on scientific rigor and ingenuity, aiming to recognize researchers who are doing leading work to foster a green renaissance. This year’s jury was chaired by global sustainability scientist Johan Rockstrom.  “On both a personal and scientific level, this award is an outstanding and heart-warming recognition of my work,” said Muth. He added: “More importantly, at policy level, I envision this award as contributing to a growing acknowledgement that incorporating social and economic considerations into climate policy formulation is crucial if mankind is to stay within the safe confines of our planetary boundaries for our generation and the generations to come.”  Muth acknowledges that carbon pricing, which puts a fee on greenhouse gas emissions, plays a central role among policies used to tackle climate change effectively. His research examines how political challenges and the economy paralyze ambitious climate policies crucial for safeguarding the planet s boundaries. The awarded paper articulates that generated revenue is one of the most promising policy design elements of carbon pricing to overcome such constraints. The article further outlines how that revenue from carbon pricing policies can be redistributed back into society.   “A hybrid usage of carbon revenue, combining various compensatory schemes in conjunction with spending on climate projects (including making low-carbon alternatives available), is the most effective strategy for implementing stringent carbon policies,” concluded Muth, who began working in April as a postdoctoral researcher at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam on a global climate action project. Prior to this role, Muth was a junior research fellow at the Budapest-based Institute of World Economics.  For his research, he performed a comprehensive comparison of thirty national-level policies of carbon pricing. He analyzed which revenue recycling strategies are effective in supporting stringent carbon pricing and what distributional impact these policies have on different socioeconomic groups. Muth’s awarded article stems from his PhD dissertation developed at CEU. He credits the university for providing a supportive research environment.   “At CEU, critical thinking is part of the institutional DNA. I felt constantly motivated to challenge my own assumptions and critically reflect on current approaches to policy issues,” he said. “Learning from PhD peers, a superb faculty with diverse backgrounds, and assistance from the excellent supporting staff, all contributed to my research.”  Reflecting upon his PhD studies that led to this achievement, he said: “My outstanding supervisor, Florian Weiler, guided and encouraged me to push further [to] exploit all possible connections to my research, political and social, as well as economic. Evelyne Hubscher introduced me to segments of the political economy literature that set me on a deeply engrossing journey to analyze how economic principles may clash with political interests in climate policy.” Muth notes that this inquiry led him to create the intersectional theoretical model for this research. He added: “I was also privileged to learn about Qualitative Comparative Analysis from Carsten Schneider, and this became a great passion for me.”  On June 26 during the Frontiers Planet Prize Award Ceremony, three International Champions will be named from the 23 National Champions and awarded with a prize of one million Swiss francs to further support their research.   Visit here for a full list of the 2024 Frontiers Planet Prize National Champions.    Unit: Doctoral School of Political Science, Public Policy, and International RelationsAlumni RelationsCategory: NewsImage: Content Priority: High

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