Christopher Costello

Christopher Costello is a Distinguished Professor and Director of the emLab at the Bren School of Environment, University of California, Santa Barbara. His research focuses on resource economics, environmental regulation, and natural-resource management under uncertainty. Specializing in marine policy, fisheries management, and climate policy, he examines how information and adaptive strategies influence decision-making in resource-intensive sectors. He holds a PhD from UC Berkeley and has mentored several PhD students in environmental economics and marine conservation.

Education: PhD (UC Berkeley, Agricultural & Resource Economics), MS (Oregon State University, Agricultural & Resource Economics), BS (UC Berkeley, Environmental Economics & Policy).

Research interests include the economics of marine reserves, subsidy reforms in global fisheries, and climate adaptation strategies for fisheries. His work often bridges theory and practice, advocating for policies that balance ecological sustainability with economic viability. Recent studies highlight the role of bilateral agreements in marine conservation and the impact of input subsidies on overfishing.

Notable contributions include frameworks for designing effective marine protected areas (MPAs) and analyzing the co-benefits of conservation for food security and biodiversity. His lab collaborates on tools like SubsidyExplorer to assess subsidy reforms' ecological and economic effects.

Students advised include Nestor Collado (fisheries and regulation), Nathan Grimes (ocean conservation), and Risa Lewis (climate policy and emissions reduction). Postdoctoral researcher Kaiwen Wang focuses on fisheries economics and management.

Labs/Teams: emLab (Environmental Markets Lab) focuses on market-based solutions for environmental challenges, particularly in marine ecosystems and resource allocation.