Jim Watson
UKERC Director,
UKERC HQ Staff,
Programme Lead,
UKERC Researcher
Jim Watson is Professor of Energy Policy at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources. He joined UKERC as Research Director in February 2013, and has been UKERC’s Director since January 2015.
He trained as an engineer at Imperial College London and has a PhD in science and technology policy from University of Sussex. Before joining UCL in 2018, he spent 20 years at SPRU, University of Sussex – including as Director of the Sussex Energy Group from 2008 to 2013.
His research has focused on range of energy, climate change and innovation policy issues. His recent outputs include co-edited books: New Challenges in Energy Security: The UK in a multipolar world (Palgrave, 2013; with Catherine Mitchell) and Global Energy: Issues, Potentials and Policy Implications (Oxford University Press, 2015; with Paul Ekins and Mike Bradshaw).
He frequently advises UK government departments and other national and international organisations. He was an advisor to the UK Government Office for Science Foresight project on energy (2007-08), and has been a Specialist Adviser with three UK Parliamentary committees. He has extensive international experience, including over ten years working on energy scenarios and energy innovation policies in China and India. In 2008, he spent three months as a Visiting Scholar at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Jim is a judge for the Queens Awards, a member of the BEIS fossil fuel price assumptions panel and a member of the strategic advisory group for the Global Challenges Research Fund.
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Related Publications (32)
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Policy Briefing
by
Gemma Delafield,
Meysam Qadrdan,
Caroline Mullen,
Nicola Beaumont,
Paolo Agnolucci,
Rob Holland,
Caroline Kuzemko,
Peter Taylor,
Jillian Anable,
Brett Day,
Jan Webb,
Alona Armstrong,
Mike Bradshaw,
Stephen Allen,
Keith Bell,
Andrew Lovett,
Jim Watson,
Gail Taylor,
Tara Hooper,
Richard Lowes,
Felix Eigenbrod,
Christian Brand,
Anita Sheperd,
Antony Froggatt,
Jianzhong Wu,
Astley Hastings
09 Dec 2019
The Review sets out some of the challenges the next government will face – and makes specific recommendations about future policy priorities.
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Research Report
by
Kajsa-Stina Longuere,
Jim Watson,
William Burns
05 Dec 2019
This report summarises the key findings from the Whole Systems Networking Fund.
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Consultation Response
by
Ian Temperton,
Jim Watson
26 Sep 2019
BEIS recently consulted on the potential business models for carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS). Read a summary of the response by Ian Temperton, UKERC Advisory Board member.
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Consultation Response
by
Peter Taylor,
Jim Watson
13 Jun 2019
This summary touches on a number of introductory points about the need for industrial decarbonisation and the role of government policy.
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Research Report
by
Rob Gross,
Richard Hanna,
Jim Watson
04 Apr 2019
In a report published last month, UKERC academics identified how the government could achieve a net zero target cost-effectively, in a way that enables the UK to capture competitive advantages.
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News (32)
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by
Jim Watson
16 May 2019
In their latest "Ask the Expert" podcast Prof. Jim Watson of UKERC chats to Social Market Foundation Director James Kirkup about how the UK could achieve a just transition to a zero carbon economy.
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by
Jim Watson
28 Feb 2019
Current UK policies are nowhere near sufficient to deliver an energy system and economy that meets the goals of the Paris Agreement. Brexit and nationalism add political instability. Jim Watson provides a historic and strategic perspective on the nation and energy policy
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Consultation response
by
Rob Gross,
Nick Jenkins,
Jim Watson,
Nick Pidgeon,
Jessica Bays
05 Oct 2018
Read the UKERC response to the Welsh Government Consultation: A low-carbon pathway for Wales
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Policy
by
Rob Gross,
Mark Winskel,
Keith Bell,
Jim Watson,
Paul Dodds
03 Sep 2018
Read the UKERC response to the Scottish FCC call for evidence on the Climate Change Bill.
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Policy
by
Rob Gross,
Keith Bell,
Jim Watson
03 May 2018
Read our response to Ofgem’s consultation on the RIIO-2 framework.