Work experience

• I am a biologist turned social scientist working in the field of 'integrated assessment' of climate change and sustainable energy. After a degree in Botany from Durham, I studied for an MSc and D.Phil. at the Science and Technology Polcy Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex (thesis title: Regulating the New Biotechnologies in Europe: Development and Application of a Method for Analysing and Evaluating Regulation of the New Biotechnologies in the UK, Germany, Denmark, France and the EC).
• I then worked as a Research Associate at the University of Lancaster with Professors Brian Wynne and Robin Grove-White on the sociology of climate change science and the use of CC science in policy making. Whilst at Lancaster, I was involved in the ULYSSES EU project, investigating public engagement with computer-based integrated assessment models. In 1998 I moved to UMIST as lecturer in Environmental Management and Policy and began work on the socio-economic impacts of climate change at the regional scale. This included developing social science input to integrated assessment of climate change impacts and response measures. I took part in regional & country studies for the North West of England, East Midlands, Greater London and Scotland.
• In 2000, I was one of the founding members of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, and led the theme on Decarbonising Modern Societies (2000-2005), a £2.5 million programme across 12 UK universities and research organisations. This culminated in the 'Decarbonising the UK' (DUK) report in September 2005, which used a back-casting scenarios approach (collaborators: Kevin Anderson, Alice Bows, Sarah Mander, Paul Ekins and Paolo Agnolucci). In 2001, I started work (with Clair Gough) on CO2 capture and storage, including public perceptions, CCS deployment scenarios for selected UK regions and stakeholder multi-criteria assessment. Other work includes collaboration with Paul Upham on local perceptions of bioenergy and constructing bioenergy scenarios for UK regions as part of a Supergen consortium; prospects for CCS in India (with Preeti Verma); acceptability of CCS in the EU (as part of the ACCSEPT EU project); and social simulation modelling of business response to climate change impacts (with Mercedes Bleda).
• My research has been funded by the EPRSC, ESRC, NERC, Sustainable Development Commission, BP, E.ON., DEFRA, UK Water, IPTS, Environment Agency, European Commission, Scottish Government, Greater London Council, East Midlands Sustainability Roundtable and Sustainability North West.