Driving change: EDRC latest achievements in energy research and policy engagement

It’s been an exciting period for EDRC, with our members recognised and making a big impact across both research and policy. From prestigious awards to parliamentary evidence, here are some highlights we’re proud of.

We’re thrilled to see Professor Kate Pangbourne receive the Hay Award 2025.

As Professor of Transport Transitions at the University of Leeds and Deputy Director of the Leeds Social Sciences Institute, she has been a driving force in advancing interdisciplinary research, forging connections between transport geography, computer science, and environmental science. Within EDRC, Kate leads the Governance theme and acts as the EDRC Early Career Researcher Champion.

This award celebrates her years of dedicated work strengthening the field of Transport Geography through her research, leadership, her advocacy for the field and her support for its community.

On 3rd September, Professor Rebecca Willis brought insights from the Climate Citizens group directly to MPs at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Committee. Her evidence was wide-ranging and practical, offering a clear message: people want to see visible, confident government leadership on climate. She reminded the committee that the public isn’t simply “for” or “against” climate action, most sit in the middle, open to persuasion and supportive of bold measures. Policymakers often underestimate this support, missing opportunities for more ambitious decisions.

Rebecca also stressed that climate policy should not be left to experts alone. People must be visibly included in decision-making processes, recognised as citizens rather than reduced to consumers. She highlighted the importance of local, empowered leadership, and argued that climate messaging shouldn’t be framed as either about emissions or co-benefits like health and fairness: we can and should do both.

Our postgraduate researcher Manon Burbidge has been awarded the Outstanding Postgraduate Paper Prize by the Energy Geography Research Group. The prize, in the research design and methods category, recognises the originality and rigour of her work. It’s fantastic to see our early career researchers like Manon leading the way with fresh ideas and approaches.

Congratulations also to Dr Katherine Sugar, who has been promoted to Research Fellow at the University of Manchester. Katherine’s research is at the heart of our  Place-based retrofit and regeneration models (PEER) project.

She’s now expanding that work through the MERIT (Mapping Engagement Routes for the Industrial Transition) Flexible Fund project. Supported by our Early Career Flexible Fund, MERIT aims to identify practical and locally relevant ways to engage industrial SMEs (Small and Medium-sised Enterprises) in energy demand reduction as part of wider decarbonisation efforts.

Finally, our joint consultation response with the Bennett Institute for Innovation and Policy Acceleration has been quoted in a new House of Commons report.

Our report emphasised clear roles, strong project processes, early stakeholder engagement, and alternatives to large centralised projects. It also highlighted the social, technical, economic, and political complexity of energy transitions, and the need for stability in policy and decision-making.

This is a great example of how our research is informing real-world policy and contributing to a fairer, low-energy future.