An Analysis of Policy Mechanisms to Address Fuel Poverty and Climate Change

Fuel poverty is often characterized as being driven by three main factors; incomes, prices, and energy efficiency. These vary between and within regions, by housing tenure and household type with poorer households facing higher costs than typical households. Approximately 7 million people and 3 million homes in England have been affected.

This research seeks to evaluate the relative contribution of different factors to fuel poverty setting this debate within the wider context of policy targets to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions. The fourth report to the IPCC notes that buildings offer the largest share of cost-effective opportunities for GHG mitigation and that achieving a lower carbon future will require very significant efforts to enhance programmes and policies for energy efficiency in buildings and low carbon energy sources well beyond what is happening currently. The UK government has set legally binding targets to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050 and residential buildings contribute a significant proportion of all emissions.

Energy inefficiency of the existing housing stock raises the risk of fuel poverty while the continued existence of fuel poverty potentially acts as a barrier to achieving a low carbon future. The age of the housing stock and different construction methods have also impacted on energy efficiency and fuel poverty. Addressing these issues effectively requires an interdisciplinary approach.

Hence this PhD topic would consider the role played by incomes, prices, and energy efficiency, and in addition consider what policy mechanisms need to be explored or created in order to improve the quality of the housing stock so that all households can inhabit warm homes. A comparative analysis at international level and then disaggregating to national, regional and local level would be required. The research opens up an opportunity to develop specific case studies with local level housing interventions and an analysis of fuel poverty across social and private rented as well as owner-occupied tenure types to evaluate potential benefits and suggest policy improvements.

Entry Criteria
UK 1st Class/2:1 Bachelor’s degree (or UK equivalent according to NARIC), or 2:2 with UK Masters degree with minimum of merit or a UK Masters, in economics, business economics, real estate, finance, public policy or other related cognate discipline.