Sustainable land use policy: Theory and empirical evidence from the United Kingdom" Sustainable Resources PhD Research Proposal

UK Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from agriculture and land use will continue to be substantial over coming decades (BEIS, 2020). A number of key proposed strategies to reduce or offset these land use emissions (e.g. growing biomass for energy use; peatland restoration; afforestation) involve significant land use change (LUC) which presents a number of challenges for public policy (IPCC, 2019). First, land provides a range of valuable social and environmental services (e.g. food, recreation, biodiversity) that would be affected by LUC (Crossman et al, 2013). Second, land use policy and energy policy are administered by different government departments, each with their own objectives, that might result in inconsistent strategies for emissions reductions and environmental protection. Third, there is no currently implemented integrated framework for analysing land use and energy policy within government that could bring such consistency across policy. Fourth, the ability of government to influence land use (e.g. by specifying whether food or energy crops are grown) is limited.

This PhD seeks to: (i) investigate and evaluate how the need to achieve emission reductions, and other social and environmental objectives are reflected in UK Government land use and energy policy making; and (ii) develop improved approaches for the future that account for the four challenges outlined above. Qualitative methods, such as interviews, will be undertaken through current employment relationships with Quantitative models have a key role underpinning policy development and the research will examine how energy and land use models are used, updated, and communicated in government, to inform a new integrated approach. This PhD will aim to further develop land use analysis capabilities within an energy systems model.