CIED ended in February 2019. This website is now archived and will be no longer updated.

Co-Director

Professor of Energy Policy (SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit)

Professor Steven Sorrell (Co-Director, Theme Leader Impacts) is a Professor of Energy Policy in SPRU, member of the Sussex Energy Group (SEG) and Honorary Senior Fellow at the Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College. He has more than 20 years of experience in energy and climate policy research, with a particular focus on market based instruments, resource depletion, energy efficiency and rebound effects. Steve has (co)-authored three books, forty peer-reviewed papers, twelve book chapters and more than one hundred research reports on various aspects of energy and climate policy. He has extensive experience in leading multi-disciplinary, multi-partner research projects for RCUK and the European Commission and has acted as consultant to the European Commission, the UN, UK government departments, the Environment Agency, the Sustainable Development Commission, private sector organisations and NGOs.

Projects

Exergy Economics

Exergy Economics is an emerging field that has the potential to throw new light on the relationship between economic growth and energy consumption.

cars in traffic
Rebound effects in UK transport

While the fuel efficiency of passenger and freight transport has improved, it may have unintentionally increased the number of cars on the road or encouraged the development of larger, more powerful vehicles. What is the nature and magnitude of these rebound effects and their policy implications?

thermal image of house
The diffusion of energy service contracting

Energy service contracts involve the outsourcing of energy-related services to a third party, or contractor. This project aims to identify the factors underpinning successful business models, to identify whether, how and under what conditions such models could diffuse more widely, and to assess their potential for reducing energy demand in order to provide recommendations for public policy.

Publications

Blogs

Is Brexit an opportunity to rethink UK carbon pricing?

The UK’s exit from the European Union will make changes to UK carbon pricing unavoidable. Given the complexities and inefficiencies of the current policy mix, could Brexit be viewed as an opportunity for radical policy change in this area? And, if so, what is likely to be the best outcome? The UK played a critical …