Dr. Katya Rhodes

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Professional information & research

Dr. Katya Rhodes is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Administration, an Associate Member in the Department of Psychology, and a Member of the Institute for Integrated Energy Systems at the University of Victoria.

Dr. Rhodes investigates the topics of low-carbon economy transitions and climate policy design using survey tools, energy-economy models, media and content analysis. She is a member of Canada's Sustainable Development Advisory Council providing policy advice on UN's Sustainable Development Goals in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy. In 2019-2022, she served as President of the Canadian Society for Ecological Economics. Prior to joining the academia, Dr. Rhodes worked in the British Columbia (BC) Climate Action Secretariat where she led greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions modelling and economic analyses for the provincial CleanBC plan. Dr. Rhodes' professional experiences also include the development of clean technology and green jobs databases at the Vancouver Economic Commission, analysis of the provincial policy for the Cumulative Effects Framework in the BC Government, the investigation of public and stakeholder perceptions of BC’s carbon tax at the Pembina Institute, and teaching Environmental Economics at Royal Roads University.

Dr. Rhodes’ current research focuses on the design of effective and acceptable climate policies. She holds grants from SSHRC and Swedish Research Council to study pathways to achieve net-zero and the possibility of co-existence of climate sustainability and economic growth. Dr. Rhodes’ ongoing projects also assess consumer motivations to adopt low-carbon technologies, improvements in energy-economy models, and the design of community-level policy to accelerate climate action.

Dr. Rhodes teaches interdisciplinary courses including ADMN 548 Sustainability Transitions, ADMN 509 Economics for Policy Analysis, and ADMN 581 Quantitative Methods for Public Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation.

Research interests

• Decoupling economic growth from emissions
• Public acceptance of climate policy
• Consumer preferences for low-carbon technology
• Climate policy mixes
• Climate policy governance
• Economic impacts of climate policy

Selected contributions

Media interviews

• CBC News (2024). BC Today: Party policies on climate change. October 17.
• CBC Radio (2024). Carbon tax one of the key issues in the BC election campaign. September 25.
• National Observer (2024). Where do parties stand on climate? September 25, 2024.
• CBC News (2024). The carbon tax has plagued the Liberals politically. Research says that's not surprising. June 1.
• The Globe and Mail (2024). Is carbon pricing a politically feasible climate policy? Research says maybe not. June 1.
• National Observer (2023). Political frenzy on the BC carbon tax whiplash politics. April 5.
• CBC News (2024). Deana Sumanac-Johnson show on Canada’s carbon tax. March 31.
• The Globe and Mail (2023). The Liberal EV mandate is no moonshot. We need it if we want to see cheaper EVs. December 19.
• Toronto Star (2023). It’s political. Is carbon pricing dead? November 24.
• Victoria News (2023). B.C. policy expert gives green light to higher electric-vehicles goals. October 25.
• CBC News (2023). An oil exec was on the hot seat. But should the government be feeling the heat? October 20.
• CBC Radio (2023). What heat pumps are and why they are becoming so popular. June 9.
• Times Colonist (2023). Political cost key part of hitting net-zero emissions. February 23.
• The Tyee (2023). Beyond Carbon Taxes: Even Better Climate Solutions for Government. February 14.
• Global News (2023). The Jas Johal show on carbon taxes and other policies to reduce emissions. February 13.
• CBC News (2021). Despite recent price hikes, heating with gas is still so cheap it's going to be hard to kick the habit. November 8.

Policy and opinion papers

• Rhodes, E. (2024). A climate policy primer for BC voters. Canada’s National Observer. October 18.
• Rhodes, E. (2024). Big government, big trouble? Defending the future of Canada’s climate policy. The Conversation Canada, April 7.
• Dordi, T., Rhodes, E., and McPherson, M. (2023). Oil Money, Foreign Control: Exposing the Powers Behind Canada’s Oil Sands. Policy Options, August 23.
• Gransaull, G., Rhodes, E., and Fairbrother, M. (2023). The U.K.’s approach to climate governance can aid Canada’s climate ambitions. Policy Options, August 9.
• Scott, W., and Rhodes, E. (2023). Canada needs to synchronize its climate policies for effective emission control. The Conversation Canada, March 28.
• Rhodes, E., and Corbett, M. (2023). Targeted policies can help decarbonize Canada one home at a time. The Conversation Canada, January 24.
• Andrew, K., Majerbi, B. and Rhodes, E. (2022). What the 2022 federal budget says about Canada’s commitment to a green recovery. The Conversation Canada, April 7. Re-posted in National Post and the World News.
• Rhodes, E., and Hoyle, A. (2021). Climate policy creates winners and losers, and governments need to choose the best model to weigh the outcomes. The Conversation Canada, November 9.
• Scott, W., and Rhodes, E. (2021). Bending the emissions curve requires flexibility. Policy Options, August 13.
• Rhodes, E. (2020). BC’s green stimulus needs to focus on fuel switching, not energy efficiency. Policy Options, July 20. The Coronavirus Pandemic: Canada’s Response Special Feature.

Journal articles

• Andrew, K., Pardy, A., and Rhodes, E. (2024). The landscape of heat pump adoption in Canada: A market segments approach. Special issue “Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Urban Environments.” Frontiers in Energy Efficiency, 2, https://doi.org/10.3389/fenef.2024.1376070
• Andrew, K., Rhodes, E., and Ebner, M. (2024). Size of government and willingness-to-pay for environmental policy: Evidence from a cross-country survey. Journal of Environmental Management, 351, 119601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119601
• Veitch, E., and Rhodes, E. (2024). A cross-country comparative analysis of congestion pricing systems to achieve decarbonization goals. Case Studies on Transport Research, 15, 101128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2023.101128  Nominated for Elsevier Atlas Award.
• Hoyle, A., Peters, J., Jaccard, M., and Rhodes, E. (2023). Additional or accidental? Simulating interactions between a low-carbon fuel standard and other climate policy instruments in Canada. Energy Policy, 185, 113919. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113919
• Dordi, T., Webber, O., Rhodes, E., and McPherson, M. (2023). A voice for change? Capital markets as a key leverage point in Canada’s fossil fuel industry. Energy Research and Social Science, 103, 103189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103189
• McPherson, M., Rhodes, E., Stanislaw, L., Arjmand, R., Saffari, M., Hoicka, C., Xu, R., and Esfahlani, M. (2023). Modeling the transition to a zero emission energy system: A cross-sectoral review of building, transportation, and electricity system models in Canada. Energy Reports, 9, 4380-4400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2023.02.090
• Scott, W., Rhodes, E., and Hoicka, C. (2023). Multi-level climate policy in Canada: Examining impacts and interactions between federal and provincial climate policy mixes. Climate Policy, 23(8). https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2023.2185586
• Gransaull, G., Rhodes, E., and Fairbrother, M. (2022). Institutions for effective climate policymaking: Lessons from the case of the United Kingdom. Energy Policy, 175, 113484. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113484
• Corbett, M., Rhodes, E., Pardy, A., and Long, Z. (2023). Pumping up adoption: The role of policy awareness in explaining willingness to adopt heat pumps in Canada. Energy Research and Social Science, 96, 102926. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2022.102926
• Fairbrother, M., and Rhodes, E. (2023). Climate policy in British Columbia: An unexpected journey. Frontiers in Climate, 4, 1043672. https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2022.1043672 
• Odland, S., Rhodes, E., Corbett, M., and Pardy, A. (2023). What policies do homeowners prefer for home heating and why? An exploration of policy support in Canada. Energy Policy, 173, 113368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113368
• Andrew, K., Majerbi, B., and Rhodes, E. (2022). Slouching or Speeding Toward Net Zero? Evidence from COVID-19 Stimulus Policies in the G20. Ecological Economics, 107586, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107586
• Rhodes, E., Hoyle, A., McPherson, M., & Craig, K. (2022). Understanding climate policy projections: A scoping review of energy-economy models in Canada. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 153, 111739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2021.111739
• Yan, L. Flexible regulations. On Rhodes, E., Scott, W., and Jaccard, M. Nature Climate Change, 11, 643. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01121-7
• Rhodes, E., Scott, W., and Jaccard, M. (2021). Designing flexible regulations to mitigate climate change: A cross-country comparative policy. Energy Policy, 156, 112419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112419  
• Rhodes, E., Craig, K., Hoyle, A., and McPherson, M. (2021). How do energy-economy models compare? A survey of model developers and users in Canada. Sustainability, 13(1), 5789.  https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115789
• Kitt, S., Axsen, J., Long, Z., and Rhodes, E. (2021). Competence, integrity or value similarity? The role of trust in citizen acceptance of climate policy. Ecological Economics, 183, 106958. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.106958
• Rhodes, E., Axsen, J., and Jaccard, M. (2017). Exploring citizen support for different types of climate policy. Ecological Economics, 137, 56-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.02.027
• Rhodes, E., Axsen, J., and Jaccard, M. (2015). Gauging citizen support for a low carbon fuel standard. Energy Policy, 79, 104-114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2015.01.019
• Rhodes, E., Axsen, J., and Jaccard, M. (2014). Does effective climate policy require a well-informed citizen support? Global Environmental Change, 29, 92-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.09.001
• Rhodes, E., and Jaccard, M. (2013). A Tale of two climate policies: Political-economy of British Columbia’s carbon tax and clean electricity standard. Canadian Public Policy, 39, S37-51. https://doi.org/10.3138/CPP.39.Supplement2.S37