PhD – From climate information to climate action: Evaluating how climate information use shapes local adaptation decision making in English Local Authorities and opportunities for improvement

This fully funded PhD opportunity will involve working with colleagues at the University of East Anglia and the UK Met Office on understanding how climate information shapes adaptation decision-making in English Local Authorities, and how climate services can better support climate action.

The Climate Change Committee’s Well Adapted UK report highlights a critical need for practical adaptation solutions to build a resilient UK by 2050. Although information and data to inform adaptation planning is increasingly available through national risk assessments and climate services, there is limited understanding of how such information is interpreted and used by Local Authorities (LAs), which have a central role in managing planning, infrastructure, estates management, public health, and community resilience to climate risks. This includes understanding how organisational roles, professional norms, and internal decision-making processes influence climate information use.

This project will examine how climate information, including hazard, risk and adaptation data, is currently interpreted and incorporated into local public-sector decision-making processes, and how it shapes organisational decision making on climate adaptation. Project findings will shape recommendations that will inform the next generation of climate service tools and enhance the uptake and useability of information by LAs.

We seek a highly motivated individual with an understanding of climate science and/or adaptation policy in the UK; skills in qualitative and quantitative data collection, analysis and synthesis; interest in engaging with adaptation decision-makers; and excellent written and verbal communication.

Further details

• Find out more about Primary Supervisor, Dr Katie Jenkins
• Learn more and apply for the role