The Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) has 5 funded PhD studentships vacancies
Two CAST PhD studentships available at the University of Bath and three CAST PhD studentships available at the University of East Anglia
Submit your application by 17 February 2025 for:
Integrated behavioural-technological solutions for sustainable campus accommodation (Institute of Sustainability and Climate Change)
- Supervisors: Prof Lorraine Whitmarsh, CAST Director & Theme 4 Co-lead (lw2253@bath.ac.uk), Dr Tom Arnot & Mr Pete Phelps
- Job type: Full-time
- Location: University of Bath
Topic overview:
The University of Bath Institute of Sustainability and Climate Change is inviting applications for the following funded PhD project commencing September 2025.
This PhD will focus on new students starting university as a key ‘moment of change’ to foster sustainable habits, and potentially use the unique opportunity of construction of a new residence block on Bath’s campus as a ‘living lab’ to test composite novel behaviour change interventions and technical approaches. It will combine behavioural science, building physics and engineering controls, and environmental monitoring, integrating technology, data, social influence to design and monitor a sustainable living space (modelling building specifications and occupant behaviour) and test composite behavioural-technological interventions.
GIF CDT: Public perceptions of carbon capture & storage (CCS)
- Primary supervisor: Prof Lorraine Whitmarsh, CAST Director & Theme 4 Co-lead (lw2253@bath.ac.uk)
- Job type: Full-time
- Location: University of Bath
- Deadline: Applications accepted all year round
Topic overview:
The Green Industrial Futures Centre for Doctoral Training (GIF CDT) is inviting applications for the following project, expected to commence in either June or September 2025. This advert will close when a suitable candidate is identified, so early application is encouraged.
This PhD will apply qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods to explore CCS perceptions across and within several countries (including the UK). Methods may include deliberative focus groups, online surveys, and/or messaging experiments. There will be a particular focus on how perceptions vary geographically, across age groups, and in response to different messages or scenarios. Outputs will provide insights on how to engage adults and young people on CCS in the context of net zero energy transitions.
Submit your application by 28 February 2025 for:
Net zero climate change: political and societal engagement with hard choices and difficult trade-offs
- Primary supervisor: Prof Andy Jordan, CAST Theme 2 Co-lead (a.jordan@uea.ac.uk)
- Job type: Full-time
- Location: UEA
- Deadline: Friday, February 28, 2025 (Midnight, UK time)
Topic overview:
Reducing UK emissions to (net) zero will be very difficult without policies that disrupt the status quo. However, it is an open question as to whether society – comprising publics, politicians and other policy makers – is willing and able to embrace and implement such policies, particularly if they curtail individual freedoms or make certain groups worse off.
This studentship will examine how different social actors perceive the challenge of achieving net zero and the policies to achieve it. Specifically, it will explore how far they perceive net zero to challenge the status quo, via the adoption of policies that involve difficult trade-offs and hard choices.
Human-Climate connections in the workplace
- Primary supervisor: Prof Olga Tregaskis, Theme 3 Co-lead, (o.tregaskis@uea.ac.uk)
- Job type: Full-time
- Location: UEA
- Deadline: Friday, February 28, 2025 (Midnight, UK time)
Topic overview:
This studentship will examine the human-climate connection as part of a values-based approach to sustainability transition for businesses. It examines the connection between environmental values and behaviour (e.g. climate, netzero, biodiversity) and meaningfulness, wellbeing and connectivity at work. It will build upon the existing evidence base on employee green behaviours and sustainability leadership roles. However, the focus on the human-climate connection offers an opportunity to understand the role of individuals in driving innovations and change through business and management communities.
Net zero: confronting the political and societal barriers to behaviour change
- Primary supervisor: Prof Irene Lorenzoni, Co-Investigator, (i.lorenzoni@uea.ac.uk)
- Job type: Full-time
- Location: UEA
- Deadline: Friday, February 28, 2025 (Midnight, UK time)
Topic overview:
Reducing UK emissions to net zero by mid-century will be challenging and may require policies that significantly disrupt the status quo. However, is society – comprising publics, interest groups and politicians –willing and able to undertake and accept these, particularly if they impinge on individual freedoms and necessitate decisions on what to prioritise?
This studentship will examine the views and role of publics and politicians in enabling transitions to net zero societies, focussing on hard to change behaviours (or ‘sticky issues’ like flying and eating meat). It will explore how publics, stakeholder groups and politicians in the UK and potentially other countries view interactions between such behaviours; what the implications are for how these may (not) be undertaken and the effects of such choices on achieving net zero.