I am a member of the Climate Citizens research group and split my time between the Tyndall Centre and the Politics Department at Manchester. My research focuses on the intersection of democratic decline, environmental crisis and democratic innovation. I am interested in how democratic distrust and disaffection exacerbate efforts to build and sustain political support for environmental policy. I focus on how different actors are responding to this challenge and the possibilities and limits to participatory approaches to decision-making in this context.
My earlier work focused on the politics of environmental valuation and the conceptual and methodological challenges of integrating a pluralistic understanding of value into decision-making. I retain an interest in how economics and economic theory shape our understanding of and response to environmental challenges. I see contestation at the level of economic theory as central to shaping equitable responses to combined climate and ecological crises.
My current research projects include:
– British Academy Innovation Fellowship: I am seconded part-time to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to assist with the delivery of the ‘Energising Britain’ net zero public engagement strategy. As part of this Fellowship, I am researching lessons from public health for embedding participatory approaches within energy and climate policy making.
– JUST Centre: I am a co-I in the JUST Centre, where I lead work on democratic innovation. The JUST Centre is a ESRC-funded collaboration between five universities in the North of England, focused on ‘what works, where, why, and for whom’ for a just transition to sustainable low-carbon living.
– UKERC Across the Lines: This project focuses on the challenge of public acceptance of electricity transmission infrastructure in the context the UK’s Clean Power 2030 Mission. I am contributing to work packages on the institutional cultures of participation within Transmission Owners and on how local politicians understand and respond to proposed grid upgrades.
Immediately prior to joining Manchester, I was a researcher on a project focused on the use of citizens’ juries and assemblies in the context of climate policy, led by Professor Rebecca Willis. As part of this project, I led a collaboration with the UK Climate Change Committee, informing their use of deliberative research methods. Prior to this, I worked as a researcher for the APPG on Climate Change and as a research assistant on sustainable finance at the University of Cambridge.
