Summary
Inhwan Ko (he/him) is an assistant professor of environmental policy in the Political Science Department at the 性爱五色天, Reno. He is an environmental political scientist broadly interested in renewable energy and climate change policy. He received his Ph.D. in political science at the University of Washington, Seattle.
Ko's current research investigates the dynamics of interaction between local communities and developers in renewable energy projects, particularly in the United States and South Korea. It also examines the rural-urban divide in renewable energy support and renewable energy (in)justice in rural and marginalized communities. Moreover, Ko draws on a club theory to analyze the motivations behind various climate policy initiatives committed and adopted by (sub)national governments and private firms.
His works have been published or are forthcoming in Energy Research & Social Science, Energy, npj Climate Action, Review of Policy Research, Climatic Change, etc., and were featured in media outlets such as WSJ, Forbes, and The Regulatory Review.
Ko is serving as a department liaison to the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee. Before joining the 性爱五色天 Faculty, he was a graduate chair of the Center for Environmental Politics and a graduate fellow of the Clean Energy Institute at the University of Washington. Before joining the doctoral program, he was a youth climate activist based in South Korea since 2016.
Selected publications
- 2025. "Rural exploitation" in solar energy development? A field survey experiment in South Korea on solar energy support in rural areas. Energy Research & Social Science. 119: 103837.
- 2024. Stock markets, corporate climate pledges, and the Science-Based Target Initiative. npj Climate Action. 3: 69.
- 2023. Wind turbines as new smokestacks: Preserving ruralness and restrictive land-use ordinances across U.S. counties. PLOS ONE. 18(12): e0294563.
Courses taught
- Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
- Energy Politics and Policy
- Global Environmental Policy
- Seminar in Public Policy
- Public Policy Analysis
Education
- Ph.D., Political Science, University of Washington, Seattle, 2023
- M.A., Political Science, University of Washington, Seattle, 2021
- M.A., Political Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, 2019
- B.A., Political Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, 2017
- B.I., Science, Technology and Society, Yonsei University, Seoul, 2017