Masaru Yarime is an Associate Professor at PPOL and ENVR and the Co-Director of the AI Ethics and Governance Lab at HKUST. He has appointments as an Honorary Associate Professor in the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Public Policy at University College London, a Visiting Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo, and a Visiting Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Environmental Studies at Tohoku University. He serves on the editorial board of journals, including Sustainability Science, Environmental Science and Policy, Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, Data & Policy, and Frontiers in Sustainable Cities (Innovation and Governance). He received a B.Eng. and an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tokyo and the California Institute of Technology, respectively, and a Ph.D. in Economics and Policy Studies of Innovation and Technological Change from Maastricht University in the Netherlands.

Research Themes under ENVR

• Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CARE)
• Sustainable Finance and Net Zero Solutions

Research Areas

• Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy
• Sustainability Science
• Public Policy on Climate Change and the Circular Economy
• Governance of Emerging Technologies
• Critical Technology Assessment

Research Interests

• Data-Driven Innovation for Sustainability
• Data Governance for Sustainable Smart Cities
• Public Policy and Governance for Artificial Intelligence
• Use of Scientific Knowledge for Policy-Making
• Data for Climate Resilience and Sustainable Supply Chain

Research Projects 

• Data Governance for Innovation in Sustainable Smart Cities: A Comparative Analysis of China, Japan, and the United States
• Establishing Digital Product Passport for Sustainable Supply Chains: Centralized and Decentralized Approaches to Data Governance

Publications

Representative Publications

• Li, Veronica Qin Ting, Masaru Yarime, Vivi Antonopoulou, Henry W. W. Potts, and Carla-Leanne Washbourne, "Behavioural perspectives on personal health data sharing and app design: An international survey study," Data & Policy, 7, e66 (2025).
• Soares, Ian Varela, Masaru Yarime, and Magdalena M. Klemun, "Estimating GHG Emissions from Cloud Computing: Sources of Inaccuracy, Opportunities and Challenges in Location-based and Use-based Approaches," Climate Policy (2025). https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2025.2450054.
• Kobashi, Takuro, Eric Zusman, Makoto Taniguchi, and Masaru Yarime, "Facilitating a Carbon Neutral Transition in Kyoto: Initiatives on Rooftop Photovoltaics Integrated with Electric Vehicles," Technology in Society, 80, 102774 (2025).
• Yoshino, Miyana, Benjamin Sadlek, Masaru Yarime, and Adnan Ali, "Knowledge absorption pathways for eco-innovation: An empirical analysis of small and medium-sized enterprises in the European Union," European Journal of Innovation Management, 28 (2), 426-453 (2025).
• Chan, Keith Jin Deng, Gleb Papyshev, and Masaru Yarime, "Balancing the Tradeoff between Regulation and Innovation for Artificial Intelligence: An Analysis of Top-down Command and Control and Bottom-up Self-Regulatory Approaches," Technology in Society, 79, 102747 (2024).
• Cuaton, Ginbert Permejo, Yvonne Su, Pamela Katic, and Masaru Yarime, "Unpacking water governance dynamics and its implications for household water security in post-disaster resettlement communities in the Philippines," Geoforum, 154, 104053 (2024).
• Soares, Ian Varela, Masaru Yarime, and Magdalena Klemun, "Balancing the Trade-off between Data Center Development and Its Environmental Impacts: A Comparative Analysis of Policy Responses in Singapore, Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, USA, and the UK," Environmental Science and Policy, 157, 103769 (2024).
• Xie, Siqi, Ning Luo, and Masaru Yarime, "Data Governance for Smart Cities in China: The Case of Shenzhen," Policy Design and Practice, 7 (1), 66-86 (2024).
• Papyshev, Gleb, and Masaru Yarime, "The State’s Role in Governing Artificial Intelligence: Development, Control, and Promotion through National Strategies," Policy Design and Practice, 6 (1), 79-102 (2023).
• Ahl, Amanda, Mika Goto, Masaru Yarime, Kenji Tanaka, and Daishi Sagawa, "Challenges and opportunities of blockchain energy applications: Interrelatedness among technological, economic, social, environmental, and institutional dimensions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 166, 112623 (2022).

Full Publication List