Political Science PhD candidate explores how public finance can combat climate change

“Earth day was always a big deal in my household growing up– I made sure of that,” said Alicja Paulina Krubnik. “I’ve always considered climate change to be the biggest issue facing humanity, and since a young age I’ve wanted to do my part in tackling it.”

Now a PhD candidate in political science, Krubnik has figured out her role in the fight, by analyzing how public finance can lead the green transition.

That’s where McMaster’s Public Banking Project (PBP) came in. The lab, led by Professor Thomas Marois, looks at how the trillions of dollars in public finance can be leveraged to facilitate the transition to an equitable, green economy. Essentially, using public institutions and money to fight climate change more successfully.

For Krubnik, the opportunity to get involved felt like a match made in heaven.

“When the PBP started, I knew I wanted to be a part of this great work,” she said. “It combined my academic background in political economy with my passion for fighting climate change and addressing some of the most challenging global development issues.”

For her PhD topic, with Marois as her supervisor, Krubnik is examining how public financing is impacting energy transitions in Ecuador and Brazil, two countries that have been dependent on oil and gas but are hoping to move towards green energy and sustainable economic development.

In order to support that transition, the countries can leverage public finance, which refers to financial institutions which are driven by public good, rather than pure profit.

“Private finance isn’t financing the green transition to the extent that people thought it would,” said Krubnik. “One of the reasons that we’re still so reliant on oil and gas is because that’s where the money is, and private companies follow the money.”

Using public finance in this way means that not only could the countries be able to phase out polluting forms of energy, but they’ll be also able to create jobs in a new sector and develop the high-tech infrastructure surrounding green energy, like battery storage.

This sector is currently being dominated by higher income countries, but public finance could be utilized to step in and give these countries a boost.

“It presents a really interesting opportunity,” said Krubnik. “Renewable energy is the future, and public finance presents developing countries with greater opportunity for green industrialization.”

And it’s not only Ecuador and Brazil that could benefit from public finance. The research ties into the overall research aims of PBP, which is to show that development banks can be utilized to help all countries industrialize and transition in an environmentally friendly and more socially equitable way.

Whereas private finance might lean towards the large, immediate profit margins of oil and gas, public finance can take a long-term approach and prioritize non-renewables and high-value industries, which take time to build.

“My research looks at what the impact of public finance is on the green transition in Ecuador and Brazil,” said Krubnik. “But I also use a critical lens to look for opportunities for things to be done better, not only in Ecuador and Brazil but across the globe.”

For Krubnik, it feels like a full-circle moment.

“When I was young, I used to lecture my siblings about the need to recycle or turn off the TV to save energy,” said Krubnik.

“Now, I get to channel that passion in a more productive way, researching climate change and development can be tackled together and more effectively by public banks.”