PhD Scholarship in Economy-Wide Energy Demand Reduction

We are offering a funded PhD scholarship in the Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment for one UK candidate in 2024/25. This 3.5 year scholarship covers UK tuition fees plus a maintenance stipend matching UKRI (currently £19,237 in 2024/25) per year, subject to satisfactory progress. The position is available from January 1st, 2025. Please note, a start date of 1st October 2025 will also be considered.<br /> <br /> For more information on funding please see the 'Funding on offer' section at the bottom of this page.<br /> <br /> This PhD place provides an exciting opportunity to pursue postgraduate research in an area of energy demand reduction as you will be joining the largest UKRI funded centre related to the topic, namely the Energy Demand Research Centre (edrc.ac.uk). You will be working collaboratively with the research team of Professor John Barrett OBE, who employees a range of modelling approaches to understand how changes in production and consumption can contribute to a low carbon future. John is currently a Theme Leader for the Future Theme of the Energy Demand Research Centre. <br />

<p style="margin-bottom:11px">The position help continue the work of our “Positive Low Energy Futures” (PLEF) (<a href="http://www.low-energy.creds.ac.uk">www.low-energy.creds.ac.uk</a>) which started under the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions. PLEF brough together leading UK energy modellers to construct a vision of a low energy future in the UK to align the UK with its legally binding climate targets. Who will further extent this research by considering the implications of low energy future on consumption patterns in the UK, exploring the underlying drivers of low energy futures and identifying policy pathways to achieve these reductions. While there is a quantitative component to the research, we are open to applicants who do not have a numerical background. We will offer training in the methods needed to undertake the research. More importantly, we are looking for an applicant who recognises the importance of a systems approach and values transdisciplinary approaches to address complex multi-faceted questions.</p> <p>The research team work closely with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Climate Change Committee and there is an opportunity to work directly with them as part of you PhD programme.</p> <p>If you are interested in applying, please contact Professor John Barrett (<a href="mailto:j.r.barrett@leeds.ac.uk">j.r.barrett@leeds.ac.uk</a>) to arrange a time to have an informal discussion. </p> <p>To meet the UK’s 2030 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission target, there are two related problems: 1. We need to reduce GHG emissions by nearly 5%/year, three times the 1.5%/year reduction rate achieved since 1990. 2. Previous reductions have come from mainly decarbonising the power sector and offshoring heavy industry, where it is becoming increasingly challenging to deliver further substantial GHG reductions. Climate policy to date has disproportionately focussed on the power sector despite electricity accounting for only around 20% of UK energy demand. As long as the carbon intensity of the economy is high (79% of UK energy demand is provided by fossil fuels), there is a critical role for energy and material productivity measures in both production and consumption to deliver short-term targets by 2030. It is simply not possible to rely on the policy of ‘electrifying everything and provide zero carbon electricity’ without also considering production and consumption patterns.</p> <p>With this in mind, in 2022 a coalition of universities worked together to provide the most comprehensive pathways to date that describe a low energy future for the UK. The “Positive Low Energy Futures” project brought together 17 energy modellers to construct a co-created vision of a low energy future for the UK (low-energy.creds.ac.uk). The methodology was then adopted by the Government Office for Science to undertake their cross-departmental project, “Net Zero Society”.</p> <p>We are looking forward to fund a PhD position that will work with the research team at Leeds to continue this research. This could include a underlying the underlying drivers, the implications on consumption and the practical realities of policy implementation.</p> <p>References</p> <p>Barrett, J., Pye, S., Betts-Davies, S. et al. Energy demand reduction options for meeting national zero-emission targets in the United Kingdom. Nat Energy 7, 726–735 (2022). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-022-01057-y">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-022-01057-y</a></p> <p>Government Office for Science (2023) Net Zero Society, available from: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/net-zero-society-scenarios-and-pathways--2">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/net-zero-society-scenarios-and-pathways--2</a></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Duration of the Award</p> <ul> <li>Full-time (3.5 years). The award will be made for one year in the first instance and renewable for a further period of up to two years, subject to satisfactory academic progress.</li> </ul> <p>Other Conditions</p> <ul> <li>Applicants must not have already been awarded or be currently studying for a doctoral degree.</li> <li>Awards must be taken up by 1st October 2025.</li> <li>Applicants must live within a reasonable distance of the University of Leeds whilst in receipt of this scholarship.</li> </ul>

<p>Formal applications for research degree study should be made online through the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/research-applying/doc/applying-research-degrees">University's website</a>. Please state clearly in the research information section that the research degree you wish to be considered for is PhD Scholarship in Economy-Wide Energy Demand Reduction as well as <a href="https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/see/staff/1146/professor-john-barrett-obe">Professor John Barrett</a> as your proposed supervisor.</p> <p>If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence that you meet the University's minimum English language requirements (below).</p> <p><em>As an international research-intensive university, we welcome students from all walks of life and from across the world. We foster an inclusive environment where all can flourish and prosper, and we are proud of our strong commitment to student education. Across all Faculties we are dedicated to diversifying our community and we welcome the unique contributions that individuals can bring, and particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to Black, Asian, people who belong to a minority ethnic community, people who identify as LGBT+ and people with disabilities. Applicants will always be selected based on merit and ability.</em></p>

Applicants to this scholarship in the School of Earth and Environment should normally have at least a 2:1 for their Undergraduate degree (or equivalent) and/or a Distinction or Merit (or predicted) in their Masters degree (both in an appropriate discipline). Applicants who are uncertain about the requirements for a particular research degree are advised to contact the School or Graduate School prior to making an application.

The minimum English language entry requirement for research postgraduate research study is an IELTS of 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in each component (reading, writing, listening and speaking) or equivalent. The test must be dated within two years of the start date of the course in order to be valid. Some schools and faculties have a higher requirement.

<p>We are offering a fully funded scholarship to study the project<em> PhD Scholarship in Economy-Wide Energy Demand Reduction</em>, at the School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds for one UK status candidate. The funding covers UK tuition fees as well as a UKRI matched maintenance stipend (currently £19,237 in 2024/25) per year, for 3.5 years, subject to satisfactory progress.</p> <p>If you are unsure whether you are eligible for UK fees/funding please see the following information.</p> <p>When making an application, you are classified as either a home or international postgraduate researcher for the purpose of assessing tuition fees. Only certain categories of students will be eligible for UK/home tuition fees.</p> <p>Where it is not clear from your application form whether you have home or international status, the Admissions Operations team will contact you to carry out a fee assessment. For further information and advice, see our <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/undergraduate-fees/doc/fee-assessment">fee assessment page</a>.<br />  </p>

<p>For further information please contact the Post Graduate Research Admissions Team by email ENV-PGR@leeds.ac.uk</p>