Professor Catherine Mitchell
Professor of Energy Policy

Profile

Catherine Mitchell is Professor of Energy Policy at Exeter University, having worked on energy issues since the early 1980s. She has worked previously as an academic in the Centre for Management Under Regulation at the Warwick Business School, University of Warwick (2000-2007); the Energy Group of the Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex (1990-2000); and the Energy and Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley (1999). Prior to that she was a journalist writing about oil and gas issues (1982-6).

Her undergraduate degree is History (London); her Masters was in Energy and Environmental Studies within the Geography Department of Boston University (USA); and her PhD is in the field of Technology and Innovation from the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex.

She is a Lead Author (LA) in the IPCC Working Group 3’s Fifth Assessment report (AR5); she was a coordinating Lead Author (CLA) of the Policy, Financing & Implementation Chapter of the IPCC (Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change) Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation 2008-2011; She also was a Lead Analyst of sub-Chapter 13 (Policy) of Chapter 11 (Renewable Energy) of the Global Energy Assessment undertaken through the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) 2008-2010; She is the PI of Innovation, Governance and Affordability for a Sustainable and Secure Economy (IGov) – a 4 year EPSRC Established Career Fellowship; and is coming to the end of being the PI of an ESRC/EPSRC interdisciplinary research cluster into Energy Security in a Multi-Polar World; and she is a Co-Director of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC). She has also advised numerous national and international companies, NGOs and institutions on various aspects of the transition to a sustainable energy system.

From 1998-2003 she was a member of the Government’s Energy Advisory Panel (two terms); in 2000 she was the renewable energy representative on the DTI/DETR/Ofgem Embedded Generation Working Group; in 2001-2 she was seconded to the Cabinet Office to work on the Strategy Unit’s Energy Review; in 2006-7 she was seconded to the Ministry of Economic Development in New Zealand to be an international advisor on their Energy Review. While at Warwick, her group was the regulation and policy resource of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership, a G8 initiative. She has recently become a member of the Board of The Regulatory Assistance Project.

Memberships and Advisory Positions:

• Board Member of The Regulatory Assistance Project, Montpelier, Vermont
• Advisory Group Member of Smart Energy for Europe Platform, examining the post-2020 framework for investments in renewable generation in Europe
• Lead Author of Chapter 15 National and Sub-National Policies and Institutions of the IPCC’s WG3 AR5 Report on Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change , forthcoming 2011-2014
• Co-ordinating Lead Author of the Policy, Financing & Implementation Chapter of the IPCC (Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change) Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation 2008-2010
• Lead Analyst of sub-Chapter 13 (Policy) of Chapter 11 (Renewable Energy) of the Global Energy Assessment undertaken through the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) 2008-2010
• Responsible for policy and regulation in supply theme, UK Energy Research Centre Phase 1 and 2 ( 2004-2009, 2009-2014) 
• Chairperson of the BIEE (2010); Vice Chair (2009)
• Member of Balancing & Settlement Code Panel, 2008 - 2010
• Principle Investigator, Energy Security in a Multi-Polar World 2009-2013 (Interdisciplinary research cluster involving energy policy, international relations and supply chain analysis to analyse the various temporal and dimensional aspects of energy security)
• Member of Advisory Board for BRITE (Bristol Technologies for the Environment)
• Member of the IPCC scoping meeting on Renewable Energy Sources, January 2008, Germany
• Strategy Advisor to the IEA Renewable Energy Technology Deployment Integrating Agreement, 2007
• International Advisor to New Zealand Government Energy Review, October 2006-March 2007
• Member, Advisory Board for Sustainable Development Commission Inquiry into Ofgem, the Energy Regulator, 2006-2007
• Principle Investigator, Policy and Regulatory Resource for the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Project (a Public-Private partnership, launched by the United Kingdom along with other partners at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in August 2002)
• Member, Scientific Advisory Panel, Towards a Sustainable Energy Future, Research Councils UK, 2003-2006
• Member, Scientific Advisory Panel of the Centre for Analysis of Society and Environment at Risoe National Laboratory, Denmark, 2003-2006
• Chairperson, 2003, GB Renewable Energy Planning Panel (report published November 2003)
• Member, UK Government’s Energy Advisory Panel, 1998-2003, two terms
• Member, Performance and Innovation Unit Energy Review Team, Cabinet Office, 2001-2 and Member, Resource Productivity Team, Cabinet Office, 2001
• Member, DTI/DETR/OFGEM Working Group on Embedded Generation, March 2000 – February 2001
• Member, DTI Working Group on Photovoltaics, October- December 2000
• Non-Executive Director, Renewable Energy Association, 2002-7
• Member, Advisory Board of Centre for Sustainable Energy, Bristol, UK, 2002 (ongoing)
• Specialist Advisor to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Enquiry into Wind Energy, 1994 – 1995

Broad research specialisms:

Catherine’s research interest is how to undertake the transition from the current ‘dirty’ energy system to a sustainable energy system, at a rate which is quick enough to make a difference to the planetary imperative of climate change and which maintains energy security. She views this question as a system issue. This requires addressing all the issues which make up a system such as policy (and politics), institutions (including economic regulation), infrastructure, economics, innovation, law and planning. She is interested in what enables, constrains or channels energy system innovation at a local, regional, national and international level. She is also interested in the overlapping spheres of energy (including transport), waste resources and food policy and how energy policy fits within the broader climate change policy.

Links

• Energy Policy Group
• Energy Security in a Multipolar World
• Falmouth Energy Week
• iGov

Contact details