
Alexandra Mallett
Associate Professor
Graduate Supervisor, MA in Sustainable Energy
CV: View
Sustainable energy and climate policy; emerging economies / developing countries; low carbon technology cooperation; innovation, science and technology policies, changes in the Canadain North
- Brief Biography
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Hons. BA in International Relations (University of Toronto, Canada)
MA in International Development (Dalhousie University, Canada)
PhD in Development Studies (London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom)Dr. Mallett’s experience spans academia and the public sectors, working on the design, implementation and evaluation of energy, climate change and environmental policy. She has worked for the Canadian government (Natural Resources Canada and Environment Canada), an intergovernmental organization (the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C.), and academic institutions including Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom and the University of Minnesota in the United States. Research areas include an examination of the innovation, cooperation and adoption processes (including policies, actors and institutions) involved in sustainable energy technologies, especially in emerging economies, and Canada and the United States. A further line of research focuses on contemporary shifts involved in the governance of natural resources, with a particular focus on mining. Recent projects include systematic reviews assessing the effectiveness of climate policies and the potential for technological innovation to mediate policies aimed at environmental improvements, a media analysis regarding the framing of smart grids in Canada, and an examination of sustainable energy options in the Canadian Arctic.
Dr. Mallett’s experience spans academia and the public sectors, working on the design, implementation and evaluation of energy, climate change and environmental policy. She has worked for the Canadian government (Natural Resources Canada and Environment Canada), an intergovernmental organization (the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C.), and academic institutions including Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom and the University of Minnesota in the United States. Research areas include an examination of the innovation, cooperation and adoption processes (including policies, actors and institutions) involved in sustainable energy technologies, especially in emerging economies, and Canada and the United States. A further line of research focuses on contemporary shifts involved in the governance of natural resources, with a particular focus on mining. Recent projects include systematic reviews assessing the effectiveness of climate policies and the potential for technological innovation to mediate policies aimed at environmental improvements, a media analysis regarding the framing of smart grids in Canada, and an examination of sustainable energy options in the Canadian Arctic.
Honours
- School of Public Policy and Administration Excellence in Teaching Award, Carleton University, 2016/2019
- Canadian Science Policy Fellow, NRCan, 2016
- Green Gown Award for Exceptional Environmental Research in the United Kingdom, 2009
- Instant Award, Policy and Communication, Environment Canada, Health and Environment Ministers of the Americas (HEMA) process, 2004
Academic Leadership
Active Initiatives
Books & Edited Collections
- Journal Articles
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- Alexandra Mallett, Erica Lima Barros França, Ítalo Alves and Lisa Mills “Environmental impacts of mining in Brazil and the environmental licensing process: Changes needed for changing times?” The Extractive Industries and Society. Elsevier. Vol. 8(3) (September 2021)
- Afful-Dadzie, Anthony, Alexandra Mallett and Eric Afful-Dadzie “The Challenge of Energy Transition in the Global South: The Case of Electricity Generation Planning in Ghana” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Elsevier. Vol. 126 (2020)
- Hanson Pastran, Sasha and Alexandra Mallett “Unearthing Power: A Decolonial Analysis of the Samarco Mine Disaster and the Brazilian Mining Industry” the Extractive Industries and Society, Elsevier. Vol.7(2) pp.704-715 (April 2020)
- Mallett, Alexandra, and David Cherniak “Views from Above: Entrepreneurship and Climate Policy for Electricity in Canada’s Arctic” Regional Environmental Change, Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Vol.11(5): 1323-1336 (June 2020)
- Mallett, Alexandra “Beyond frontier technologies, expert knowledge and money: New parameters for innovation and energy systems change” Energy Research and Social Science. Elsevier. Vol.39: pp.122-129 (May 2018)
- Mallett, Alexandra, Jennie C. Stephens, Elizabeth Wilson, Ryan Reiber, Ria Langheim and Tarla R. Peterson “Electric Connections: News Coverage of Smart Grid in the U.S. and Canada”, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Special Issue on Smart Grids in North America. Elsevier. Vol.82 Part 2: pp.1913-1921 (February 2018)
- Mallett, Alexandra, Xavier D. Philion*, Ryan Reiber, Daniel Rosenbloom, and Maya Jegen, (2018) “Smart grids framing through smart meter coverage in the Canadian media: technologies coupled with experiences” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Special Issue on Smart Grids in North America. Elsevier. Vol. 82 Part 2: pp.1952-1960 (February 2018)
- Peters, Derek, Jonn Axsen, and Alexandra Mallett “Socio-political acceptance of smart grid as a tool to mitigate climate change in British Columbia” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Special Issue on Smart Grids in North America. Elsevier. Vol.82 Part 2: pp.1939-1951 (February 2018)
- Mallett, Alexandra “Trade and Industry Policy as Levers for Sustainable Energy Technology Adoption? Experiences from Urban Latin America” Review of Policy Research. Blackwell Publishing. Vol.33(4): pp.348-375 (July 2016)
- Mallett, Alexandra “International Technology Collaboration and Low Carbon Innovation: Recasting ‘Truisms’ with insights from emerging economies” Innovation and Development. Taylor & Francis Online. Vol.5(2): pp.297-311 (July 2015)
- Auld, Graeme, Alexandra Mallett, Bozica Burlica*, Francis Nolan-Poupart*, Robert Slater “Evaluating the effects of policy innovations: Lessons from a systematic review of policies promoting low-carbon technology” Global Environmental Change. Elsevier. Vol.29: pp.444-458 (November 2014)
- Mallett, Alexandra “Technology Cooperation for Sustainable Energy– a review of pathways”, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews on Energy and the Environment. Wiley Online. Vol.2(2): pp. 234- 50 (November 2012)
- Ockwell, David, Ruediger Haum, Alexandra Mallett and Jim Watson “Intellectual Property Rights and Low Carbon Energy Technology Transfer: Conflicting Discourses of Diffusion and Development”, Global Environmental Change, Elsevier. Vol.20(4): pp. 729-738 (October 2010)
- Mallett, Alexandra “Social acceptance of renewable energy innovations: The role of technology cooperation in urban Mexico” Energy Policy. Elsevier. Vol.35(5): pp. 2790-2798 (May 2007)
- Book Chapters
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- Pierre-Olivier Bedard and Alexandra Mallett (2019) “The Demand for Evidence in the Canadian Civil Service”, Laval University Series on Democracy and Accountability. Quebec City, QC, Canada, Laval University Press.
- David Ockwell and Alexandra Mallett (2013) (co-lead). “Low Carbon Innovation and Technology Transfer”. Chapter 8 in F. Urban and J. Nordensvärd (eds.) Low Carbon Development: Key Issues. Routledge: Abingdon, UK.
- (coordinating authors) T. van Dril and X. van Tilburg, (lead authors) L. Cameron, S. Coelho, H. de Coninck, A. Kumar, A. Mallett, J. McLaren, T. Mikunda, J. Sijm, R. Saidi, L. Würtenberger, and P. Zhou (2011) Chapter 6 – “Renewable Energy: Investing in Energy and Resource Efficiency” Green Economy, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), February 2011
Media coverage
SPPA News
SSHRC Insight Development Grant on Governance and Energy System Change at the community level in Northwest Territories
Excerpt from Carleton Sustainable Energy Research Centre news story: “While problem identification and problem solving in the Northern communities have been at the core of these research projects, Dr. Mallett thinks there are lessons to be learned and brought to the broader Canadian context. For one, they provide new insight on how to get better technological uptake. A key finding is that local governance structures are crucial to getting people on board with new technology.”
To read the full news story about this project, click here.
Future Energy Shift
Future Energy Shift is an interdisciplinary research program at Carleton University studying the feasibility of a future gravity turbine system for tall buildings.
The Future Energy Shift research team spans Architecture, Public Policy and Mechanical Engineering. Together they work with community partners and those working in the housing industry to conduct public consultation and building modelling
For more info on this project, click here.
Climate Compatible Growth
Climate Compatible Growth (CCG) is a £38m UK ODA-funded research programme, helping developing countries take a path of low carbon development whilst simultaneously unlocking profitable investment in green infrastructure, opening up new markets and supporting delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Left unchecked, climate change will cause major economic, social, and environmental damage, affecting global security, food systems, water resources, health, and ecosystems. Developing countries are at the most immediate risk. CCG can provide the right evidence at the right time on how developing countries can respond best to the low-carbon transition against a backdrop of Covid-19 economic recovery and rapid tech transformations.
In collaboration with national and international research partners, CCG will deliver the energy and transport system tools and decision support frameworks needed to create climate compatible growth and sustainable economic infrastructure. CCG aims to change the ‘rules of the game’, breaking away from siloed thinking to open new markets and jobs, shift financial flows, and make green transitions possible.
For more info on this project, click here.

Beyond Policy Analysis: Public Issue Management in Turbulent Times, 6th Edition
With an authoritative and courageous approach, Beyond Policy Analysis examines public policymaking in Canada at all areas of governance, including Heath Care, Education, Economic Development and Trade. This title goes beyond conventional categories and concepts to examine how the world of policymaking has changed with the increasing pressures of globalization, information technology, changing public values and cultural assumptions, citizen distrust, and decentralization and subsidiary. The sixth edition investigates ever-evolving governance, and proactively discusses contemporary Canadian issues.

Renewable Energy Uptake in Urban Latin America: Sustainable Technology in Mexico and Brazil.
This book explores the perplexing question of how to increase sustainable energy technology use in the developing world, and specifically focuses on two megacities within Latin America.
Renewable Energy Uptake in Urban Latin America examines the market and uptake of two sustainable energy technologies (solar water heaters and biogas to produce electricity) in two locations, Mexico City, Mexico and São Paulo, Brazil in the 2000s. Drawing from three systems-based analytical frameworks – including one developed by the author for the purpose of this study – the book examines the varying factors affecting the implementation of renewable energy technologies (RETs) in urban Latin America. These frameworks emphasize the importance of examining socio-political dimensions; rather than conventional explanations that focus on technical and economic aspects only. By doing so, the research improves explanations about renewable energy technology (RET) adoption in the global South. These findings are useful for scholars, policy makers and practitioners working on RET adoption; resulting in a book which helps to inform wider debates regarding innovation, decarbonization, sustainability transitions and energy system change.
This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy transitions, energy policy, development studies and science and technology studies.

Low Carbon Technology Transfer: From Rhetoric To Reality.
Low carbon technology transfer to developing countries has been both a lynchpin of, and a key stumbling block to a global deal on climate change. This book brings together for the first time in one place the work of some of the world’s leading contemporary researchers in this field. It provides a practical, empirically grounded guide for policy makers and practitioners, while at the same time making new theoretical advances in combining insights from the literature on technology transfer and the literature on low carbon innovation.
The book begins by summarizing the nature of low carbon technology transfer and its contemporary relevance in the context of climate change, before introducing a new theoretical framework through which effective policy mechanisms can be analyzed. The north-south, developed-developing country differences and synergies are then introduced together with the relevant international policy context. Uniquely, the book also introduces questions around the extent to which current approaches to technology transfer under the international policy regime might be considered to be ‘pro-poor’. Throughout, the book draws on cutting edge empirical work to illustrate the insights it affords. The book concludes by setting out constructive ways forward towards delivering on existing international commitments in this area, including practical tools for decision makers.
2021
- August 19, 2021
Research Spotlight: Alternative Forms of Innovation for a More Sustainable Society - February 4, 2021
New Climate Change Collaborative Grad Program
2019
2018
- March 21, 2018
Recharging Northern Energy and Fish Resources
2017
- March 29, 2017
Mitacs Fellows Pursue Science Policy in the Halls of Government (University Affairs) - February 3, 2017
Climate Change Champions (FPA News)
2016
- March 29, 2017
New program allows scientists to get involved in federal policy-making (The Globe and Mail)

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