Fully funded PhD- Cities climate change strategies and natural resources

Fully funded PhD- Cities climate change strategies and natural resources

I have a PhD opportunity with ONE Planet- Cities climate change strategies and natural resources

Cities around the world and in the UK develop local climate plans (Salvia2021). Climate actions require large amounts of natural resources (e.g. sand, aggregates, lithiumand cobalt) that should be sourced sustainably (Heidrich 2022). For effective local climate plansand to ensure there are no unintended consequence i.e. trade- offs between infrastructures andresources, assessment methodologies need to be developed with detailed analysis of the impactsof these strategies using e.g. Life Cycle Assessment and Material Flow Analysis (Baars 2021 andHeidrich 2022). The student will evaluate the impact of cities climate change strategies oninfrastructures and natural resources.In collaboration with cities like Newcastle, Manchester, North Tyneside the study will determinewhether local climate plans represent an effective means to mitigate GHG emissions and adaptcities to climate change without compromising natural resources or geopolitical relationships. Thestudy will consider the different sectors and scopes that are under the control of Local Authorities(direct influence) as well as Scope 3 emissions. The student will acquire innovative natural andsocial science tools, such as GHG accounting methodologies, geospatial tools, Life CycleAssessment (LCA) and Material Flow Accounting (MFA), as well as the network-based interviewand analysis methods. The study will advance quantitative and qualitative measures and researchmethodologies of the perceived risk and value of climate change adaptation and mitigationinfrastructures and natural resource provisions.The study will employ methods like: strategy analysis, emission and resource accounting (RQ1+2);infrastructure mapping and LCA (RQ3); calculating mitigation, e.g. GHG accounting linked to theTyndall Carbon Calculator (Manchester University), and adaptation, e.g. flood defence efforts(RQ3+4), and develop/apply a risk matrix for RQ5.

References:

Salvia Heidrich, O. (2021). Will climate mitigation ambitions lead to carbon neutrality? Renew. Sust. En. Rev. ; Heidrich (2022. LAYERS: A Decision-Support Tool to Illustrate and Assess theSupply and Value Chain for the Energy Transition, ; Baars, J.,.Heidrich, O.(2021). Circular economy strategies for electric vehicle batteries reduce reliance on raw materials, Nature Sustainability.

Some industrial ecology candidates that are on the job market

• Julia Sborz
  Norwegian University of Science and Technology