Dr Radhika Khosla
Associate Professor
Profile
Dr Radhika Khosla is Associate Professor at the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, School of Geography and the Environment, and Research Director of the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development, Somerville College, at the University of Oxford. She works on examining the productive tensions between urban transitions, energy services consumption and climate change with a focus on developing country cities.
Radhika is Principal Investigator of the Oxford Martin School's interdisciplinary and multi-country programme on the Future of Cooling, which examines and helps shape the unprecedented increase in cooling energy demand growth and its relationship to the sustainable development goals. She is Co-Investigator of Oxford Net Zero, an interdisciplinary research programme aimed at informing effective, equitable, and ambitious climate action; and Co-Investigator of the ZERO Institute, which brings together Oxford research on zero-carbon energy systems.
Radhika's other current academic affiliations are at University of Pennsylvania (USA), and the Centre for Policy Research (India). She serves on the UK's Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office UK-India Advisory Board; on the Steering Committee of the Smart Surfaces Coalition; on boards of journals and book presses; and on a range of advisory roles within Oxford.
The two sets of interrelated questions underlie her research priorities. First, how does consumption of energy-related services change as cities urbanize? What are the socio-technical systems and institutional structures that shape (and can reconfigure) energy and carbon emission pathways? Second, what forms of governance and political rationalities characterize the varied urban responses to climate change in rapidly developing cities, given their (often competing) objectives to provide urban services? Her broader interdisciplinary research examines how cities in transition manage the tensions of meeting growing energy needs for development while protecting the local and global environment.
Previously, she has been a Research Affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research (India), and Staff Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (USA).
Radhika holds a PhD in the Geophysical Sciences from the University of Chicago and an undergraduate and master's degrees in Physics from the University of Oxford.
Projects
- Oxford Net Zero
- Future of cooling
- Zero Institute
- The Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development (OICSD)
Teaching
- Spaces, Infrastructure and Technology for Net Zero, Sustainable Development, for the MSc in Enterprise and the Environment
- Governance, Policy and Politics for the MSc in Nature, Society and Environmental Governance, School of Geography and the Environment
- Environmental Governance and Development for the MSc in Nature, Society and Environmental Governance, School of Geography and the Environment
- Climate Change Negotiations: Policy Challenge for the Master's in Public Policy, Blavatnik School of Government
- Global Opportunities and Threats: Oxford Program for MBA students, Saïd Business School
- Climate Change School, Oxford Climate Society, University of Oxford
Media coverage
Radhika's research has been covered widely including by The New York Times, The Times, Reuters, the FT, The Guardian, Time Magazine, Times of India, The Conversation and Carbon Brief, and she has appeared on podcasts and broadcast television including the Sky News Daily Climate Show.
Selected publications
2022
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Lizana, J., Miranda, N. D., Gross, L., Mazzone, A., Cohen, F., Palafox-Alcantar, G., … Khosla, R. (2022). Overcoming the incumbency and barriers to sustainable cooling. Buildings and Cities, 3(1), 1075–1097.
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Linda Steg, Janet Veldstra, et al. A method to identify barriers to and enablers of implementing climate change mitigation options, One Earth, Volume 5, Issue 11, 2022
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Mazzone, A., Fulkaxò Cruz, D.K., Tumwebaze, S. et al. Indigenous cosmologies of energy for a sustainable energy future. Nat Energy (2022).
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P.G. Palafox-Alcantar, R. Khosla, C. McElroy, N. Miranda,
Circular economy for cooling: A review to develop a systemic framework for production networks,
Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 379, Part 1,2022, 134738, ISSN 0959-6526 -
Sustainable Cooling in a Warming World: Technologies, Cultures, and Circularity Radhika Khosla, Renaldi Renaldi, Antonella Mazzone, Caitlin McElroy, Giovani Palafox-Alcantar Annual Review of Environment and Resources 2022 47:1, 449-478
2021
- Fankhauser, S., Smith, S.M., Allen, M. et al. (2021) The meaning of net zero and how to get it right. Nature Climate Change.
- Khosla, R. (2021) Electrifying the National Capital Region. In, Chakravorty, S. and Sircar, N. (eds.) Colossus: The Anatomy of Delhi. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9781108832243.
- Khosla, R., Agarwal, A., Sircar, N. and Chatterjee, D. (2021) The what, why, and how of changing cooling energy consumption in India's urban households. Environmental Research Letters, 16(4). 044035.
- Khosla, R., et al. (2021) Climate Action Pathway: Net Zero cooling - Action table. The Carbon Trust
- Khosla, R., Jani, A. and Perera, R. (2021) Health risks of extreme heat. BMJ, 2021(375). n2438.
- Mazzone, A. and Khosla, R. (2021) Socially constructed or physiologically informed? Placing humans at the core of understanding cooling needs. Energy Research and Social Science, 77. 102088.
- Miranda, N.D., Renaldi, R., Khosla, R. and McCulloch, M.D. (2021) Bibliometric analysis and landscape of actors in passive cooling research. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 149. 111406.
- Renaldia, R., Miranda, N.D., Khosla, R. and McCulloch, M.D. (2021) Patent landscape of not-in-kind active cooling technologies between 1998 and 2017. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2196. 126507.
2020
- Al Saud, N., Al Shalan, M., Al Shehri, T., Bari, M., Beaugrand, M., Howarth, N., Khosla, R., Krarti, M., Lanza, A., Lebot, B., Mangotra, K., Odnoletkova, N., Patzek, T. and Saheb, Y. (2020) Enhancing Voluntary Collaboration on Cooling Through the G20. T20 Saudi Arabia 2020 Think
- Bhardwaj, A. and Khosla, R. (2020) Superimposition: How Indian city bureaucracies are responding to climate change. Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space: 1-32.
- Capstick, S., Khosla, R. and Wang, S. (2020) Bridging the gap - the role of equitable low-carbon lifestyles. UNEP Emissions Gap Report.
- Capstick, S., Wang, S., Khosla, R. and Corner, A. (2020) Achieving low-carbon and equitable lifestyle change. CAST briefing paper 06.
- Creutzig, F., Bai, X., Khosla, R., Viguie, V. and Yamagata, Y. (2020) Systematizing and upscaling urban climate change mitigation. Environmental Research Letters, 15(10). 100202.
- Kamat, A.S., Khosla, R. and Narayanamurti, V. (2020) Illuminating homes with LEDs in India: Rapid market creation towards low-carbon technology transition in a developing country. Energy Research and Social Science, 66. 101488.
- Khosla, R. and Dubash, N. (2020) Rethinking India's Energy Policy: Development Challenge around Multiple Objectives. Economic and Political Weekly, 55(32-33): 38-44.
- Khosla, R., et al. (2020) Climate Action Pathway: Net-Zero Cooling - Executive Summary. Cool Coalition / UNEP
- Khosla, R., Kamat, A.S. and Narayanamurti, V. (2020) Successful clean energy technology transitions in emerging economies: learning from India, China, and Brazil. Progress in Energy, 2(4). 043002.
- Khosla, R., Miranda, N.D., Trotter, P.A., Mazzone, A., Renaldi, R., McElroy, C., Cohen, F., Jani, A., Perera-Salazar, R. and McCulloch, M. (2020) Cooling for sustainable development. Nature Sustainability.
- Ürge-Vorsatz, D., Khosla, R., Bernhardt, R., Chan, Y.C., Vérez, D., Hu, S. and Cabeza, L.F. (2020) Advances Toward a Net-Zero Global Building Sector. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 45: 227-269.
2019
- Bhardwaj, A., Joshi, M., Khosla, R. and Dubash, N.K. (2019) More priorities, more problems? Decision-making with multiple energy, development and climate objectives. Energy Research and Social Science, 49: 143-157.
- Khosla, R. (2019) India and Subnational Climate Change: An Emerging Discourse. Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
- Khosla, R. and Bhardwaj, A. (2019) Urban India and Climate Change. Chapter 25 in, Dubash, N. (ed.) India in a Warming World: Integrating Climate Change and Development. Oxford University Press. 504 pp. ISBN: 9780199498734.
- Khosla, R. and Janda, K.B. (2019) India’s building stock: towards energy and climate change solutions. Building Research and Information, 47(1): 1-7.
- Khosla, R., Sircar, N. and Bhardwaj, A. (2019) Energy demand transitions and climate mitigation in low-income urban households in India. Environmental Research Letters, 14. 095008.
2018
- Bhardwaj, A. and Khosla, R. (2018) Integrating Urban Development and Climate Objectives: Insights from Coimbatore. Centre for Policy Research
- Cohen, B., Blanco, H., Dubash, N.K., Dukkipati, S., Khosla, R., Scrieciu, S., Stewart, T. and Torres-Gunfaus, M. (2018) Multi-criteria decision analysis in policy making for climate mitigation and development. Climate and Development.
- Creutzig, F., Roy, J., Lamb, W.F., Azevedo, I.M.L., Bruine de Bruin, W., Dalkmann, H., Edelenbosch, O.Y., Geels, F.W., Grubler, A., Hepburn, C., Hertwich, E., Khosla, R., Mattauch, L., Minx, J.C., Ramakrishnan, A., Rao, N.D., Steinberger, J., Tavoni, M., Urge-Vorsatz, D. and Weber, E.U. (2018) Towards demand-side solutions for mitigating climate change. Nature Climate Change, 8: 268-271.
- Dubash, N.K., Khosla, R., Kelkar, U. and Lele, S. (2018) India and Climate Change: Evolving Ideas and Increasing Policy Engagement. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 43: 395-424.
- Dubash, N.K., Khosla, R., Rao, N.D. and Bhardwaj, A. (2018) India's energy and emissions future: an interpretive analysis of model scenarios. Environmental Research Letters, 13(7): 1-12. 074018.
- Khosla, R. (2018) A view of energy use from India’s buildings. In, Elmqvist, T., et al (ed.) Urban Planet: Knowledge towards Sustainable Cities. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN: 9781316647554.
- Khosla, R. (2018) Plugging In: Energy Demand in Indian Residences. Kleinman Centre for Energy Policy, University of Pennsylvania
- Khosla, R. and Bhardwaj, A. (2018) Urbanization in the time of climate change: Examining the response of Indian cities. Wiley Interdiscplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 560: 1-13.
- Lamb, W.F., Callaghan, M.W., Creutzig, F., Khosla, R. and Minx, J.C. (2018) The literature landscape on 1.5°C: Climate Change and Cities. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 30: 26-34.
2017
- Bhardwaj, A. and Khosla, R. (2017) Mainstreaming Climate Actions in Indian Cities: Case Study of Rajkot. Centre for Policy Research
- Khosla, R. and Chunekar, A. (2017) Plugging In: A Collection of Insights on Electricity Use in Indian Homes. Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi and Prayas (Energy Group), Pune
- Khosla, R., Sagar, A. and Mathur, A. (2017) Multilevel climate governance and technology deployment: a view from India’s buildings sector. Environmental Policy and Governance, 27(2): 149-162.
2016
- Creutzig, F., Fernandez, B., Haber, H., Khosla, R., Mulugetta, Y. and Seto, K.C. (2016) Beyond technology: demand-side solutions to climate change mitigation. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 41: 173-198.
- Dubash, N.K. and Khosla, R. (2016) Recovering key strategic concepts in India’s climate policy. Economic and Political Weekly, 50(24): 127-129.
- Joshi, M. and Khosla, R. (2016) India: Meeting energy needs for development while addressing climate change. In, Roehrkasten, Thielges and Quitzow (eds.) G20's potential for advancing a global transition towards sustainable energy. Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam.
- Khosla, R. (2016) Closing the policy gap: building energy code lessons from Andhra Pradesh. Economic and Political Weekly, 51(2): 66-73.
- Saran, S. and Khosla, R. (2016) Energizing India-Japan cooperation on clean energy and climate change. Chapter 4 in, Mukherjee, R. and Yazaki, A. (eds.) Poised for Partnership: Deepening India-Japan Relations in the Asian Century. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780199466481.
2015
- Dubash, N.K. and Khosla, R. (2015) India's Sustainable Development Led Approach to Climate Mitigation for Paris. Centre for Policy Research
- Dubash, N.K. and Khosla, R. (2015) Neither brake nor accelerator: assessing India’s climate contribution. Economic and Political Weekly, 50(42): 10-14.
- Dubash, N.K., Khosla, R., Rao, N.D. and Rahul Sharma, K. (2015) Informing India's Energy and Climate Debate: Policy Lessons from Modelling Studies. Centre for Policy Research
- Khosla, R., Dukkipati, S., Dubash, N.K., Sreenivas, A. and Cohen, B. (2015) Toward methodologies for multiple-objective based energy policy. Economic and Political Weekly, 50(49): 49-59.
- Rao, N.D., McCollum, D., Dubash, N.K. and Khosla, R. (2015) Development and Climate Policy Synergies: Insights from global modelling studies. Centre for Policy Research
2014
- Frederick, J. and Khosla, R. (2014) The energy balance of an urban rooftop: a case study addressing cloudiness and evaporative cooling. Advances in Building Energy Research, 8(1): 97-115.
- Knowlton, K., Kulkarni, S.P., Azhar, G.S., Mavalankar, D., Jaiswal, A., Connolly, M., Nori-Sarma, A., Rajiva, A., Dutta, P., Deol, B., Sanchez, L., Khosla, R., Webster, P.J., Toma, V.E., Sheffield, P., Hess, J.J., and the Ahmedabad Heat and Climate Study Group (2014) Development and Implementation of South Asia’s First Heat-Health Action Plan in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 11(4): 3473-3492.
2013
- Khosla, R., Jaiswal, A. and Deol, B. (2013) Saving Money and Energy: Case Study of the Energy-Efficiency Retrofit of Godrej Bhavan in Mumbai. Natural Resources Defense Council
2012
- Khosla, R. (2012) Energy Efficiency in Urban Tenant Spaces: Case Study of NRDC Washington, D.C. Office. Natural Resources Defense Council
- Khosla, R., Jaiswal, A., Goldstein, D. and Deol, B. (2012) Constructing Change: Accelerating Energy Efficiency in India's Buildings. Natural Resources Defense Council
2011
- Jaiswal, A., Khosla, R., Goldstein, D. and Reddy, S. (2011) Taking Energy Efficiency to New Heights: Buildings Sector Analysis from Hyderabad. Natural Resources Defense Council
2009
- Kapur, D., Khosla, R. and Mehta, P.B. (2009) Climate change: India’s options. Economic and Political Weekly, 44(31): 34-42.
