Morley Cromwell

Morley Cromwell

Title/Position
MA Student
Dr. Laurel Besco, supervisor

Research and Professional Interests

I am a second-year Master’s student in Human Geography with a research background in environmental management and political science. My research centers around the diffusion of unilateral climate policy. Supervised by Dr. Laurel Besco, a legal scholar cross-appointed to the Faculty of Geography and Planning and the Institute for Management and Innovation. I work as a Research Assistant on Dr. Besco’s circular plastics policy project funded by SSHRC, “Achieving Legal Targets for the Plastic Crisis: Assessing Industry Norms and Expectations to Improve Legislative Outcomes.” Beyond academia, I manage an off-the-grid eco-tourism retreat in Northern Ontario and played a foundational role in launching an electric motor vehicle company in North America. These practical experiences inform my academic approach, inspiring a focus on the intersections of environmental governance, legislative effectiveness, and political geography. My research aims to bridge political and legal insights with practical, real-world solutions to contemporary environmental challenges.

Honours and Awards

  • SGS Conference Grant - Social Sciences & Humanities (2025)
  • GEF Conference Grant - Geography and Planning (2025)
  • Department Of Geography And Planning Graduate Program Recruitment Award (2024)
  • University Of Toronto Mississauga Grant (2024)
  • University Of Toronto Mississauga Grant (2022)
  • University Of Toronto Fellowship, Faculty Of Arts And Science (2024-2025)
  • University Of Toronto Scholar (2020)
  • UTM Entrance Awards (2020)

Presentations

  • Presentation at Sustainability: Transdisciplinary Theory, Practice and Action Conference (STTPA) Title: The Diffusions of Unilateral Climate Policy: The EU CBAM (October 2025)
  • Poster Presentation at Sustainability: Transdisciplinary Theory, Practice and Action Conference (STTPA). Title: The Diffusions of Unilateral Climate Policy (October 2025)
  • Presentation at Global Conference on Environmental Taxation (GCET26), Title: The EU CBAM: Unilateral Policy Diffusion. (September 2025)
  • Guest Lecture, (University of Toronto, SSM1070 Sustainability Law and Policy) Unilateral Climate Policy: Carbon Border Adjustment (March 2025)
Education
MA in Geography (Present), University of Toronto Mississauga
HBA, University of Toronto Mississauga

Research

Research Supervisor / Mentor
Dr. Laurel Besco