Research Fellow in Energy and Macroeconomics (ENVEE1404)

Would you like to further your career by applying your quantitative energy and economic skills at one of the UK’s leading research-intensive Universities? Do you have an ability to work at the forefront of the emerging field of exergy economics to find new insights to an urgent global issue: how can we decouple energy use from economic growth? If so, this could be the opportunity for you.

The research project: “Applying thermodynamic laws to the energy-GDP decoupling problem”. 

Meeting the 2015 Paris Agreement’s ambition relies heavily on reducing global energy use through increased energy efficiency. However, despite decades of energy efficiency policies and investment, global growth in energy consumption and economic output (GDP) remain tightly coupled. New insights and methods are thus urgently needed to unlock how energy-GDP decoupling can be achieved.  

In response, this five year project led by Dr Paul Brockway explores the decoupling problem using pioneering analytical methods being developed by the Exergy Economics research community, at which the University of Leeds is at the forefront. This emerging field applies ‘exergy’ as the thermodynamic-based measure of energy quality: the ability of energy to do physical work.

With a PhD (or near completion) in the energy/ecological economics field or a closely allied discipline, you will be based at the Sustainability Research Institute (SRI). You will be part of a dynamic network of researchers who specialise in alternative energy-economy modelling approaches, including SRI-based research centres Living Well Within Limits (LiLi), and the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS). Together, we have a very strong track record of publishing in high ranking peer-reviewed journals.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact:

Dr Paul Brockway, University Academic Fellow

Tel: +44 (0)113 343 5576, email: p.e.brockway@leeds.ac.uk 

Closing Date: 04 Jun 2020
Category: Research