About me
I am Roman Sieler, a PhD student in Environmental Economics at the University of Basel, focusing on the impacts of air pollution, climate change and climate policy. I am advised by Beat Hintermann and financed through grants by the Swiss National Science Foundation. During my PhD, I also spent time as a Visiting Scholar at the University of California in Santa Barbara supervised by Tamma Carleton as well as at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile with Juan-Pablo Montero.
As a Development Economist by training, my interests lie at the intersection of Development and Environmental Economics. I am particularly passionate about using spatial data and remote sensing to understand the impacts of environmental problems as well as potential solutions to these problems.
Beyond my academic work, I also work as climate policy consultant, support NGO work in the context of the UN climate conferences and am open to freelance work as author, moderator or facilitator for workshops and events. My experience with international cooperation, advocacy on climate and energy policy as well as with the facilitation of workshops and events allows me to build a bridge between academic findings and actionable solutions. If you want to know more, feel free to reach out.
Research - ongoing projects
Detection of Coral Bleaching Events through Satellite Imagery and Machine Learning. Through this ongoing project, I seek to detect large-scale coral bleaching events through the use of satellite imagery and machine learning. The goal is to create a comprehensive dataset for my own as well as other research.
The Impacts of Coral Bleaching on the Biological Standard of Living of Coastal Communities in East Africa. Using the data created through the aforementioned project, this project aims to understand the impacts of coral bleaching on the economic well-being and nutritional status of coastal communities across four East African countries. In a second step, the project also aims at understanding the adaptation behaviour and outcomes of affected households.
Bad for Business? The Impact of Air Quality on Firm Outcomes in Germany. This projects seeks to uncover the impacts of air pollution on firm- and plant-level outcomes, including labor productivity, working hours and value added. We employ an improved IV strategy using weather inversion to understand the processes behind potential effects.
Product Switching under the European Emission Trading Scheme. The question we seek to answer in this project is whether German firms switch to more sustainable - less energy intensive - products as a consequence of the introduction of a carbon price through the European ETS.
Previous Experience
Beyond my research work, I have several years of experience in international cooperation, research and consulting in the context of energy and climate policy. I currently work as a consultant on climate projects with BSS Economic Consultants in Basel, Switzerland. Previously, I was a research analyst with adelphi consult in Berlin, Germany, where I worked for the German-Korean and -Japanese Energy Partnerships and focused on the implementation of research projects, international workshops as well as on supporting the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Other past experiences include working for a Sino-German Cooperation Project seeking to support the establisment of an Emission Trading System in China with giz, German Development Cooperation, in Beijing and interning with the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
In addition, I have several years of experience in the international climate policy space and have led a delegation of young people to all UN world climate conferences since COP25. I also served as Contact Point of the Mitigation Working Group of the youth constituency in the UNFCCC, coordinating youth advocacy on the topic and spoke on behalf of youth at the opening plenary of COP27. My work also included co-organizing and participating in high-level meetings, including with EU Commissioners, Heads of State and Ministers. I am currently the Coordinator of the Network of European Youth NGOs for Climate Action, served as Board Member of Generation Climate Europe between 2019-22, and was responsible for the political representation of FIMCAP, a large network of youth organizations, as part of its European Presidium between 2021-23. In this function, I worked on the representation of young people on the EU and international level and empowered young people, both from the Global North and the Global South to participate in world climate conferences.
- Seitz, Hannes; Roman Sieler and Jana Narita (2024). Renewable energy potential in Korea and Germany. Berlin: adelphi.
- Sieler, Roman Eric; and Henri Dörr (2023). Certification of green and low-carbon hydrogen. Berlin: adelphi.
- Sieler, Roman Eric; Lisa Cames, Bianca Schuster, Sören Borghardt, and Benjamin La Trobe (2022). Hydrogen Factsheet – Japan. Berlin: adelphi.
- Sieler, Roman Eric (2022). Offshore Wind – Achieved Cost Reductions in Germany. Berlin: adelphi.
- Sieler, Roman Eric (2021). Mit Wasserstoff Richtung Net Zero: Klima- und Energiepolitik in Japan, Südkorea und Australien (With Hydrogen towards Net Zero. Cliamte and Energy Policy in Japan, South Korea and Australia). insight asia-pacific, German Asia-Pacific Business Association.
- Narita, Jana; Lisa Cames, Miha Jensterle, Roman Eric Sieler and Momo Paula Lühmann (2020). Energy Efficiency in Industry and Buildings in South Korea and Germany. Berlin: adelphi.
- Kerres, Pia; Roman Eric Sieler, Jana Narita, Jakob Eckardt and Lucy Overbeck (2020). Germany’s policy practices for improving community acceptance of wind farms. Berlin: adelphi.
- Hirschberger, Bernd; Alexandra Nicandrou; Roman Sieler et al. (2020). Young voices on climate justice - the European Youth and Climate Justice Report 2020, Generation Climate Europe.
- Sieler, Roman Eric (2019). "Do coral reefs matter? An analysis of the effects of climate induced coral bleaching on the biological standard of living in Indonesia". MEDEG Research Thesis Excellence Student Paper Series, Lund University.
- Kamenik, Anna Maria; Roman Sieler; Nina Welke (2016). “Jugendverbände als partizipatorisches Lernfeld“ (The role of youth organizations as spaces for learning participation). Der Bürger im Staat, Heft 4-2016, Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart, ISSN 0007–3121
- Summer Conference of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE), Washington DC, USA, 2024
- Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Workshop in Sustainable Development (IPWSD) at Columbia, New York, USA, 2024
- 28th Annual Conference, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (EAERE), Limassol, Cyprus, 2023
- 11th Mannheim Conference on Energy and the Environment, Mannheim, Germany, 2023
Seminar presentations and visits:
- The Gaines Lab at UCSB, Santa Barbara, USA, 2024
- UCSB Environmental Markets Lab Research Roundtable, Santa Barbara, USA, 2024
- University of California San Diego and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, USA, 2024
- Carleton Lab Meeting, Santa Barbara, USA, 2024
- Z2X23 – “Das Ideenfestival von ZEIT ONLINE (the idea festival of ZEIT online)”, 2023
Please find my full CV here: