pathway: Sustainable Futures/Climate Change, Sustainability and Society

People tend to share compassionate values, but they tend not to accurately perceive the level of similarity. My research aims to develop interventions based on demonstrating the extent compassionate values are shared by others in one’s community. The effects of these on a number of outcomes related to social and environmental sustainability will be examined, such as well-being, civic participation and intellectual humility in public debate and discussion.

My PhD research specialises in flood risk and her PhD research focuses on the climate justice dimensions of flood and coastal risk management approaches in the UK.

I’m an ecologist moving into social science, and this interdisciplinary project will explore sustainability in beekeeping. There’s increasing interest in rewilding honeybees to facilitate survival of this economically and environmentally critical pollinator outside of managed hives. Working with beekeepers and other stakeholders, I’ll investigate ecological impacts of changing practices using field data, the BEEHAVE model and disease analysis. Using Q-methodology and Social Network Analysis, I’ll investigate how perspectives and practice change over the course of this collaborative research, with aims to enhance communication among the beekeeping community, scientists and policymakers, and facilitate evidence-led action for pollinators (managed and wild).

The fashion industry is increasingly coming under fire due to concerns surrounding its sustainability. As just one example, it is thought that if the sector continues on its current trajectory, it will account for a quarter of the world’s carbon emissions by 2050. A potential way to alleviate some of these concerns could be to transition towards using circular textiles, as opposed to virgin alternatives. These type of textiles align to the principles of the circular economy and can be created from bio-based or regenerated fibres. Through my interdisciplinary PhD I am exploring the barriers, motivators and relationships impacting the adoption of circular textiles within commercial fashion ranges.

I am interested in the way climate change is communicated and discussed in an increasingly online media landscape. My research attempts to investigate the impact of institutional norms and pressures on media representations of climate change by assessing how the modern newsroom impacts upon the framing of climate change in media content produced. I am particularly interested in the way that new digital technologies and platforms are having an effect on climate change in the media.

Reforestation plays a key role in many tropical countries’ pledges under the Paris Agreement, whilst simultaneously providing co-benefits such as biodiversity protection and income generation for local communities. However, there is often a disconnect between the social and biophysical sciences when planning and implementing such multifunctional forest interventions. By incorporating approaches from both disciplines, my research aims to develop a framework for designing reforestation interventions which provide the greatest overall benefits at a landscape-scale whilst being sustainable into the long-term. Specifically, I am focusing on the peatland forests of Malaysian Borneo and its resident Dayak communities.

Transport, diet and material consumption are widely identified as crucial sites for environmental behaviour change. However, these behaviours are woven into daily life, and their change requires a great deal of personal or social sacrifice. Despite this, many people adapt their daily behaviour drastically in light of moral sensitivity to environmental concerns- adopting new identities (e.g. Vegan or Voluntary Simplifier) and reorganizing their lifestyles in accordance with their moral values.

My research examines intra and intergroup processes involved in the maintenance, transmission and adoption of pro-environmental identities, and their role in influencing or inhibiting social change in wider populations.

My research seeks to determine the role of local energy actors in the spatial diffusion of solar photovoltaics, and their contribution to overcoming the energy trilemma of energy security, energy affordability (and equity) and environmental sustainability. Spatial analysis will identify factors associated with the uptake of small-scale solar at various geographical scales, reflecting energy governance as multi-scalar. This spatial work will inform a subsequent case study approach, which will assess local energy’s current role in the energy system and how this might evolve in the future.