Lívia Machado Costa

Biography

Lívia (they/them) grew up in the Brazilian Amazon and has a deep passion for the interconnectedness of people and nature. They hold a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil, and an LLM in Chinese Studies from Peking University. Lívia is the co-founder of Shumian 书面, one of Brazil's largest digital platforms focused on Brazil-China relations. They have also worked as an Editorial Assistant at China Dialogue (now Dialogue Earth) and as a Research Assistant at the BRICS Policy Center.
Since 2021, Lívia has been an Associate Research Fellow at the Asian Center's Energy and Environment Group at Universidade Federal do Pernambuco (Brazil). In September 2023, they joined Professor Baylis' Economic Development, Geography & Environment Lab (EDGE Lab). Lívia has been awarded prestigious fellowships in the past, including the UNESCO Fellowship (2019-2020) and the Yenching Academy Fellowship (2017-2019). Fluent in Brazilian Portuguese, English, French, and Mandarin, Lívia enjoys swimming, reading non-academic books, and spending quality time with friends in their free time.

Research

My research focuses on designing sustainable and equitable climate solutions to curb deforestation in tropical forests worldwide. Specifically, I am interested in the role of supply chains as mechanisms of climate policy, including sanctions, interventions, and regulations at national and multilateral levels. I critically analyze the socioeconomic and environmental effects of policies created by national governments and key international players, such as the European Union, the United States, and China. Utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods, I evaluate the impact of these policies on deforestation and their spillover effects, which may hinder the effectiveness and goals of these interventions. Additionally, my research aims to provide a framework that captures the nuanced, dialectical agency of smallholder farmers, who are both agents of deforestation and subjects of the political economy of land dispossession.

Selected Publications

Costa, L.M. (2023). Understanding Chinese Investments in the Brazilian Amazon Region. In: Ueta, M.H., Alencastro, M., Pinheiro-Machado, R. (eds) How China is Transforming Brazil. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3102-6_6

Costa, L. M. (2022). “Transitional” fuels in the energy transition. Project for Peaceful Competition. Retrieved from https://www.peaceful-competition.org/pub/e6cxx7as

Costa, Livia Machado. Dissertation. Policy Lessons For China’s Minimum Living Standard Guarantee (Dibao 低保) Scheme from the Brazilian Bolsa Familia Program, 2019. https://www.academia.edu/113400253/POLICY_LESSONS_FOR_CHINA_S_MINIMUM_LIVING_STANDARD_GUARANTEE_DIBAO_SCHEME_FROM_THE_BRAZILIAN_BOLSA_FAMILIA_PROGRAM%20Publisher%20Peking%20University.