David Barns

I am an interdisciplinary social scientist and policy specialist in heat decarbonisation. My current role is Research Fellow in Geosolutions: Social Science, Governance & Business Models for Local and Regional Geothermal Energy Use, within Geosolutions Leeds and the Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds.

I am particularly interested in place-based aspects of the energy transition, supporting city local authorites and other local actors to deliver positive change commensurate with the scale of the climate challenge. I'm passionate about finding positive solutions which help tackle the climate crisis and which work for communities through approaches which address fuel poverty, empower local decision-making, and build a just transition.

In my research fellowship within Geosolutions Leeds, I am applying this focus to the role of the subsurface in decarbonisartion and the energy transition. I am taking a local and regional approach to understand how the interplay of national and local policy, institutional and governance arrangements, city energy planning and competing demands will impact on use of the subsurface.