School of Social and Political Science

Background

I’m a Research Fellow in the School of Social and Political Science, with over fifteen years of research and policy experience in energy transitions, governance, and just energy futures. My work sits at the intersection of energy policy, sociology, and human geography with a focus on understanding the role of political, technical and economic decentralisation in energy decarbonisation. I research the policy needs of smart and equitable energy systems, the role of cities and regions in climate policy, and the governance of demand-side flexibility. I currently work on two major projects:

• UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) Co-Director and research lead for Affordability, Justice and Economic Impacts (2024–2029). My work examines place-based approaches to retrofit and heat decarbonisation and the social ecologies of net zero;
• Electric Power Innovation for a Carbon-free Society (EPICS) a Global Centre for Climate and Energy (Co-Investigator). I lead social science contributions in the UK, including researching policy needs for fair consumer-led flexibility. 

I regularly work with national, regional and local policymakers and industry, including conducting consultancy for Innovate UK, Ofgem, Sustainability First and the Centre for Sustainable Energy. I currently sit on the Northern Power Grid ‘Community DSO’ Stakeholder Advisory Committee.

Previous projects include:

• UKERC phase 4: Deputy theme lead for Local and Regional Energy Systems. I worked with Professor Jan Webb exploring local energy system development in Great Britain. The project studied the institutions used to build technical, financial and governance capacities for energy system decarbonisation at the sub-national level, conducting case studies of regional and local energy system planning and development.
• Re-scaling governance for decarbonisation: co-ordinating decentralised energy systems (Post-doctoral fellowship): This project built on my PhD to examine the interactions between local energy systems, governance structures and political devolution.
• Power shift: I led this UKERC phase 3 project which evaluated gender balance in UK energy research and made recommendations to create more inclusive research environments.
• IGov: I worked with Professor Catherine Mitchell on the ‘Innovation and Governance for future energy systems’ (IGov) project examining energy system change in GB and internationally, actor responses, and system governance needs. My work focussed on exploring the local governance requirements of smart and flexible energy systems, including the role of local governments and new energy business models. 
• Energy Security in a Multi-polar World (ESMW): I coordinated the ESMW interdisciplinary research network which brought together experts in energy policy, international relations and supply chains to explore energy security challenges and develop policy relevant thinking on security, affordability and carbon reduction priorities.

Selected academic and policy publications:

• Britton, J. and Webb, J. (in press) Unpacking value in local and regional energy: strategies and struggles in British energy markets, Valuation Studies.
• Letcher, M; Britton, J and Hoggett, R (2026) Charged with potential: Lessons from Utrecht Energized Vehicle-to-grid project, https://edin.ac/4tTFa6K
• Hoggett, R. and Britton J. (2026) People, priorities, and path dependencies: Governance lessons for demand-side flexibility in Great Britain's decarbonising electricity system, Energy Research and Social Science, 131, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2025.104520
• Britton, J; Hoggett R; Wu, J (2026) Delivering consumer flexibility in GB energy systems: progress and priorities, UKERC Review of Energy Policy, https://ukerc.ac.uk/publications/review-of-energy-policy-2025/
• Poulter, H., Britton, J., Rattle, I., Bolton, R., Webb, J., & Taylor, P. (2025). Accelerating transitions? Planning for decarbonisation in local and regional energy systems. Energy Research and Social Science, 120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2024.103875
• Britton, J. and Webb, J. (2024) ‘Institutional work and social skill: the formation of strategic action fields for local energy systems in Britain’, Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 50, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2023.100789.
• Berglund, O.; Britton, J.; Hatzisavvidou, S.; Robbins, C.; Shackleton, D (2023) ‘Just transition in the post-pandemic city’, Local Environment, pp.1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2023.2173732
• Navroz K Dubash, et al (2022) IPCC Sixth Assessment Report. Chapter 13 - National and Sub-national Policies and Institutions, https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/chapter/chapter-13/
• Britton, J., Woodman, B., & Webb, J. (2022). Ideational bricolage as a route to transforming local institutions for heat decarbonisation: heat networks and local government in England. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 24(4), 449–462. https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2022.2082932