Energy-environment-society interactions

Patrick Devine-Wright holds a Chair in Geography at the University of Exeter. Ranked in the world's top 1% of social science scholars in 2019 and 2020, he brings expertise spanning Human Geography and Environmental Psychology to the study of low carbon energy transitions. His expertise relates to public participation and community engagement with energy infrastructure siting, sense of place and energy citizenship. He is an IPCC Lead Author on Climate Mitigation, Chair of the Devon Net Zero Task Force and a non-executive Director of Exeter Community Energy. He is currently leading and contributing to several research projects funded by NERC, ESRC, ISCF and Horizon 2020 on smart local energy systems, shale gas fracking and sustainable heating. He sits on the board of academic journals including Global Environmental Change, Energy Research and Social Science, the Journal of Environmental Psychology, and Environment and Behavior. 

Dr Stephen Watson is an Ecosystem Services Scientist at PML. A marine ecologist and ecosystem services analyst by training, he is broadly interested in quantifying the often-complex interactions between anthropogenic pressures, biodiversity, ecosystem services and society in coastal, marine, terrestrial and other settings. His research utilises: ecological indicators, GIS, ecosystem models (e.g., InVEST) and methods of environmental economic evaluation. His work is highly interdisciplinary and often involves engagement with industry, regulators, businesses and the general public, and he has regularly led and supported the implementation of workshops, surveys and interviews. Before joining PML, he was a Senior Research Associate on the Solent Natural Capital Project at the University of Portsmouth and has worked on issues such as the impact of multiple stressors and tipping points on ecosystem services as part of the wider Valuing Nature Network (VNP), UK Ocean Acidification (UKOA) and Biodiversity & Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) research programmes. 

Maria Thaker is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore India. Her lab takes an integrative and comparative approach to understand phenotypic form and function. This involves exploring multi-trait variation within and between species, the functional connection between morphology, behaviour, physiology and nutrition, and the evolutionary patterns of these trait complexes. She also examines the implications of environmental change, such as urbanization and green energy, on these suites of animal responses and their consequences for ecosystems. Maria currently leads the Movement Ecology component of the newly-launched Indian Long-term Ecological Observatories program.

Dr Kathryn G Logan is an Energy Policy Researcher at University College Dublin, Ireland. In this role, Kathryn takes a multidisciplinary approach to bring together research focusing on energy systems, energy management and energy in society to inform policy and research objectives. Kathryn completed her PhD in Environmental Science at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Kathryn’s PhD project involved applying quantitative analysis methods within the NERC ADVENT project. Her project was titled 'Investigating the Impact of the Electrification of Transport to Reduce Carbon Emissions on Natural Capital,' which focused on infrastructure changes, including electricity supply, and the related trade-offs between greenhouse gas emission reductions, climate regulation and the potential impact upon ecosystem services. Kathryn had the opportunity to work as a visiting researcher at Tsinghua University (China) and Kyoto University (Japan) to understand what lessons can be learned from other countries regarding policy, decarbonisation and low emission transport.

Gemma Delafield is currently pursuing a PhD in Environmental Economics at the University of Exeter’s Land, Environment, Economics and Policy Institute (LEEP). She is applying quantitative analysis methods to the problem of designing policies for future energy production in the GB. The focus of her research is upon determining where in GB to locate future generation and transmission infrastructure particularly with regards to the ecosystem service impacts resulting from different spatial configurations.

Giles is a doctoral researcher at Lancaster University, investigating the effects of floating solar on water body process and function. From a systematic review of the impact of water cover analogues to uncertainty framework modelling and in-situ monitoring, Giles’ research is helping to unlock the potential for floating solar in the UK and abroad. Giles is particularly keen to engage stakeholders with his research in order to fully understand the industrial context and derive maximum impact. He organised a stakeholder workshop to prioritise the opportunities and threats of floating solar, bringing together industry, policy and NGOs partners. He also took a 6 month break within his PhD to complete a research and innovation project that culminated in the co-development of two reports on floating solar with four UK water companies. In addition, Giles has also undertaken an industry placement with a UK water company as part of his CASE studentship.

Professor Katherine (Kathy) J Willis, CBE, took up the role as Principal of St Edmund Hall on 1 October 2018. Kathy is also Professor of Biodiversity in the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford. Prior to this, between December 2013 and September 2018 Kathy was Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where she spearheaded the launch of Kew’s Science Strategy 2015-2020. She also previously held the Tasso Leventis Chair of Biodiversity at Oxford and was founding Director of the Oxford Martin School Biodiversity Institute. Kathy’s research interests focus on the relationship between long-term ecosystem dynamics and environmental change. She has published extensively being author of over 100 scientific publications, including the landmark book The Evolution of Plants, now in its second edition. She has also written several popular science books (including Plants: From Roots to Riches and Botanicum) and she explored the importance of plants through the BBC Radio 4 series Plants: From Roots to Riches. In August 2015, Kathy was awarded the prestigious Michael Faraday Prize from the Royal Society for her excellent work in science communication and in February 2016 she was appointed to the Natural Capital Committee, an independent advisory body to the UK Government which will take forward the implementation of the new 25-year Environment Plan. Kathy was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours list in June 2018.

Dr Stephen Watson is an Ecosystem Services Scientist at PML. A marine ecologist and ecosystem services analyst by training, he is broadly interested in quantifying the often-complex interactions between anthropogenic pressures, biodiversity, ecosystem services and society in coastal, marine, terrestrial and other settings. His research utilises: ecological indicators, GIS, ecosystem models (e.g., InVEST) and methods of environmental economic evaluation. His work is highly interdisciplinary and often involves engagement with industry, regulators, businesses and the general public, and he has regularly led and supported the implementation of workshops, surveys and interviews. Before joining PML, he was a Senior Research Associate on the Solent Natural Capital Project at the University of Portsmouth and has worked on issues such as the impact of multiple stressors and tipping points on ecosystem services as part of the wider Valuing Nature Network (VNP), UK Ocean Acidification (UKOA) and Biodiversity & Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) research programmes. 

Robert Holland is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Southampton whose work focuses on the interactions between energy system, natural capital and biodiversity. His research seeks to promote greater collaboration between researchers and policy makers in the energy and environment communities to ensure that the identification of routes to net zero explicitly consider the broader environmental implications. Currently his work focuses on improving our ability to model the international environmental impacts of national energy policy taking mediated through trade. 

Patrick has led the local energy team in BEIS since October 2015. Before joining local energy he worked in the Heat Strategy team where he developed a range of community energy initiatives and led the team that developed and launched the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive. Previous to joining DECC in 2009, Patrick spent 10 years as a sustainable transport officer where he set up the Smarter Travel team for Transport for London. The team developed school and workplace travel plans as well as some of the initial programmes around community travel plans and destination travel plans including ideas for the 2012 Olympic bid.

Dan McGonigle is Head of Systems Research at Defra. His team is responsible for systems analysis on cross-cutting and emerging topics. He previously worked as a programme leader on international land management in the CGIAR and as head of sustainable land and soils at Defra.

Jessica Fox is a Senior Technical Executive at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a non-profit scientific research organization. She has led EPRI’s $15M per year Water and Ecosystem research team and is an expert in environmental markets and 'credit stacking', ecosystem services, and corporate sustainability. Fox created the EPRI Ohio River Basin Water Quality Trading Project, which is the world’s first interstate trading program for nutrients (http://wqt.epri.com) and won the United States Water Prize in 2015. Fox led EPRI’s Energy Sustainability Interest Group from 2011 through 2016 to become the largest collaborative forum in the industry to strategically advance critical issues related to the sustainable generation and distribution of electricity, including consensus by 45 utilities on sustainability metrics to use to benchmark their companies’ performance (www.epri.com/sustainability). She launched EPRI’s internal corporate social responsibility program in 2016 under EPRI’s Chief Sustainability Officer and CEO, with oversight from EPRI’s Board of Directors. In 2017, Fox was recognized as Top Innovator (The Fantastic Forty) by Public Utilities Fortnightly. In 2018, Ms Fox launched the EPRI Power-in-Pollinators Initiative http://www.epri.com/pollinators, which already is the largest effort in North America focused specifically on pollinator conservation at electric power companies. In 2020, she was selected as the single Fortnightly Foremost Innovator in environmental protection in the electric power industry for her work on pollinator research. Her projects have been covered by the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, National Public Radio, Bloomberg, and others. She is a trained 'Master Facilitator' and conflict resolution mediator, a member of the United States Ecological Society of America, and a Certified Habitat Steward by the National Wildlife Federation. Ms Fox has hosted and organized and hosted over 50 workshops to advance clean energy, electric power company sustainability, and consideration for water and ecosystems in our power system. She has authored or coauthored over 75 publications, including compiling 3 books. She previously worked as a molecular biologist leading conservation genetics projects on dragonflies in Costa Rica, at Stanford University sequencing and mapping the human genome, as a manager at a biotech start-up company developing DNA analysis technologies, and as invasive weed field biologist for US Bureau of Land Management. She has a Bachelor’s of Science from University of California at Davis, and a Master’s of Science from Stanford University. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-fox-680b6515/

James Johnson is the progamme lead for Local Energy North West Hub. James works with public sector organisations, energy networks, developers and Industry to respond to energy policy and the climate agenda. James is a specialist in energy in the built environment with a Masters in Building Services Engineering and Sustainable Energy. A Chartered Engineer (CEng) and Member of the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE). Local Energy North West Hub supports organisations across the North West of England to identify, develop and implement energy projects. The programme is supported by central government and is overseen by the five local enterprise partnerships in the North West of England. 

Cam has over a decade of experience in environmental policy and advocacy. Cam joined Solar Energy UK in February 2020 to head up the policy team, with a focus on utility-scale solar and storage development, operations, and technical asset management. Cam’s background is in conservation and land management policy. Prior to joining the STA, he was Head of Policy at National Parks England and spent 5 years as a Government Relations and Budget Specialist at The Wilderness Society in Washington, DC.

Will is the Head of Energy Development for The Crown Estate, the specialist real estate business that manages the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Will’s portfolio includes the offshore wind seabed resource, project origination and leasing, and wind farm projects during the consenting and development phase as developers progress to ‘ready-to-build’. Will is a chartered civil engineer with experience of infrastructure projects and investment programmes in the water and power industries, both in the UK and overseas.

Since 2007, Jonathan Scurlock has led on analysis and advice about energy and climate change to the NFU's management, office holders and members. His background is in university and government research, covering energy and climate policy, plant physiology, bioenergy and other renewables. He was educated at Oxford and London, and is a Visiting Fellow at the Open University. 

Dr Jeanette Whitaker is a biogeochemist with 23 years' research experience in plant-soil ecology and biogeochemistry. Her interests include the effects of climate change, land use change and land management on soil carbon sequestration; the sustainability of perennial bioenergy crops; land-based greenhouse gas removals eg biochar; and the translation of scientific evidence to inform policy and decision making. Jeanette has led projects for NERC, EPSRC, BEIS and the Climate Change Committee including a NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship in Bioenergy sustainability where she worked with UK policymakers, industry and NGO's to inform the expansion of a sustainable bioenergy feedstock production in the UK. She currently leads a £2M NERC grant on soil carbon sequestration investigating the potential to increase soil C stocks through land management, and sits on the UKRI Energy Programme Science Advisory Committee. 

Andrew Lovett is a Professor of Geography in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia. He is currently involved in several research projects concerned with energy-environment interactions including ADVENT (https://ukerc.ac.uk/research/advent/), the Energy, Environment and Landscapes Theme of UKERC Phase 4 (https://ukerc.ac.uk/research/environment/) and IRENES (https://www.interregeurope.eu/irenes/) which is examining the integration of renewable energy and ecosystem services in environmental and energy policies.

Since 2007, Jonathan Scurlock has led on analysis and advice about energy and climate change to the NFU's management, office holders and members. His background is in university and government research, covering energy and climate policy, plant physiology, bioenergy and other renewables. He was educated at Oxford and London, and is a Visiting Fellow at the Open University. 

Professor Nicola Beaumont is an internationally recognised specialist in the assessment and valuation of ecosystem services. She has a sustained publication record (Google H-index 27, 7,800+ cites) and has acted as PI or co-I on an extensive range of projects. Nicola has managed more than £3.8million of research funding as PI including leading two large (£1.2million+) multi-institute collaborative projects. She considers the communication of research to academics, policy makers, managers and user groups to be a critical aspect of her career. Nicola’s research has recorded impact in the policy sphere, including underpinning the designation of marine conservation zones and shaping government policy such as the Marine Bill and the Natural Environment White Paper. Nicola sits on several international and national committees, including the NERC Science Committee and the UK Productive Seas Evidence Group (PSEG) reporting directly to UK government.