Prof Jim Watson

Post:	Professor of Energy Policy (The Sussex Energy Group)
Email:	prpp4@sussex.ac.uk
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Biography

I have over twenty years of research experience on climate change, energy and innovation policy. I was based at SPRU from 1993-2018, until my appointment as Professor of Energy Policy at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources in June 2018. From Dec 2008 to Jan 2013, I was Director of SPRU's Sussex Energy Group.

I was appointed as the Research Director of the UK Energy Research Centre in Feb 2013, and have been its Director since January 2015.

I have been a specialist adviser to the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee for its inquiry into The UK's Energy Supply: Security or Independence? (Apr-Oct 2011); the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee for its inquiries on the Draft Climate Change Bill, Climate Change: The Citizen's Agenda and Energy Efficiency and Fuel Poverty (Mar 2006 to Jun 2009); and the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee for its inquiry on resilience of elecricity infrastructure (2014/15)

I was a member of DECC and Defra's social science expert panel (2012-16); a Council Member of the British Institute for Energy Economics (2004-16); a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics working party on new approaches to biofuels (Sep 2009 to Apr 2011); a Lead Expert with the UK government Foresight project on Sustainable Energy Management and the Built Environment (2007-2009); and a member of the IPPR New Era Economics panel (2010-12).

International roles include: Panel Member, Academy of Sciences of South Africa consensus study on Green Technologies in South Africa (2012-14); and Visiting Scholar, Energy Technology Innovation Policy group, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (2008).

Role

Professor of Energy Policy at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources

Director of the UK Energy Research Centre

Associate Faculty, SPRU, University of Sussex

My other roles include:

Member of the government's fossil fuel price expert panel
Member of the Global Challenges Research Fund strategic advisory group
Member of judging panel, Queens Awards for Enterprise: Sustainable Development category
Advisory Board member, Carbon Connect (a cross-party discussion forum on energy)
Member of a number of research centre advisory boards