Faculty of Environment, School of Earth and Environment Funded Studentship 2025-26

Project Title

Impacts of green growth and degrowth pathways using societal exergy analysis: country-level case studies

School/Faculty

School of Earth and Environment 

Closing Date

24^th April 2025 

Eligibility

UK/Home only 

Funding

We are offering a fully funded scholarship to one UK candidate. The funding covers UK tuition fees as well as a UKRI matched maintenance stipend (currently £20,780 in 2025/26) per year, for three and a half years, subject to satisfactory progress. 

Lead Supervisor’s full name & email address

Dr Paul Brockway P.E.Brockway@leeds.ac.uk 

Co-supervisor name(s) & email address(s) (optional)

Dr Emmanuel Aramendia E.Aramendia@leeds.ac.uk 

Project summary

This fully funded PhD place provides an exciting opportunity to pursue postgraduate research in the study of the upcoming global energy transition and the impacts on the energy-economy systems and wider sociomacroeconomic impacts. The PhD project is part of a four year Leverhulme Trust project entitled “Impacts of green growth and degrowth pathways using societal exergy analysis”, which uses the novel, interdisciplinary methods of Exergy Economics (combining thermodynamics, energy analysis and economics) to assess energy-emissions-economic impacts and implications of current ‘economic green growth’ and alternative potential ‘energy degrowth’ pathways, at a global and case study country level. 

Working with an experienced project team at the University of Leeds, including project lead (Dr Paul Brockway) and co-investigator (Dr Emmanuel Aramendia), the PhD project will focus on country-level green growth and degrowth pathways, in parallel with the global level workstream. The PhD researcher will be free to select – with support from the wider project team - Global North and South case study countries, reflecting country-level divergence in energy use and economic affluence, and allowing study of the wider implications of ‘economic green growth’ and potential ‘energy degrowth’ pathways, including Sustainable Development Goal 7 (energy access and economic efficiency). The findings can help provide a step change in our understanding of the energy, economic and emissions impacts of current green growth strategies, and alternative degrowth pathways. 

For full information, please see the advert on the University of Leeds website. 

References (Optional)

N/A 

Please state your entry requirements plus any necessary or desired background

Applicants to research degree programmes should normally have at least a first class or an upper second class British Bachelors Honours degree (or equivalent) in an appropriate discipline. 

Subject Area

Environmental Science, Economics 

Keywords

Environmental science, economics, environmental economics, green growth, exergy economics

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