Rate My Professor John Barrett

Professor John Barrett OBE serves as Professor in Energy and Climate Policy in the School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability at the University of Leeds, where he is affiliated with the Sustainability Research Institute. He has a distinguished track record of leading major research centres dedicated to modelling approaches that analyze changes in production and consumption to facilitate a low carbon future. Barrett has provided expert advice to numerous UK Government departments, Government Select Committees, and agencies including the Committee on Climate Change. His contributions include evidence supporting the UK government's commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and the development of consumption-based emissions indicators. He served as a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fifth Assessment Report, Working Group III, focusing on climate change mitigation. Additionally, he has engaged with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on energy demand modelling and industrial strategy, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on resource productivity policy.

Barrett previously directed the Centre for Industrial Energy, Materials and Products (CIE-MAP), a £4 million initiative funded by the UK Research Councils, and co-directed the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS) as well as the UK Energy Research Centre. He currently holds the position of Theme Leader for the Energy Demand Research Centre (EDRC) and serves as Principal Investigator for the Production and Consumption Transformations (PACT) Centre. His research specializations encompass energy demand and scenario modelling, sustainable consumption and production, industrial energy and resource efficiency strategies, carbon accounting, and pathways to net zero emissions. Key publications include 'Energy demand reduction options for meeting national zero-emission targets in the United Kingdom' (Nature Energy, 2022), 'Quantifying the potential for climate change mitigation through investment in electricity access and clean cooking in 20 low-income developing countries' (Environmental Research Letters, 2020), and 'Reducing inequality resulting from UK low-carbon policy' (Climate Policy, 2020). In recognition of his impact on UK policy in climate change and resource efficiency, Barrett was awarded an OBE in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to climate change assessment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He regularly presents evidence to parliamentary committees, public inquiries, and collaborates with industrial stakeholders.