Caroline Kuzemko
Room: D1.13
A&F Hours:
Mondays 10.00-11.00 in D1.13
Thursdays 14.30-15.30 on Teams
Caroline Kuzemko: LinkedIn
I am a Professor in the Political Economy of Climate Change. My administrative roles include: Co-Director of the UK Energy Research Centre UKERC; and Director of the new PaIS MA in the Politics of Climate Change. I re-joined PaIS in 2016, having worked as a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Exeter for four years. Prior to my academic career, from 1994 to 2002, I was a Director at Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS).
Research Interests:
- Political economy of climate change mitigation
- Political economy of low-carbon energy transformations, at various scales (international, domestic, local)
- Rethinking energy geopolitics and security under conditions of decarbonisation
- Constructivist Political Economy
Publications (click hereLink opens in a new window or see tab above for details)
My books include: Climate Politics: Can't Live With it, Can't Mitigate Without It (2026 forthcoming); The Energy Security-Climate Nexus: Institutional Change in the UK and BeyondLink opens in a new window, and The Global Energy Challenge: Environment, Development and SecurityLink opens in a new window (with Andreas Goldthau and Michael Keating).
I co-edited a Special Section on 'New Directions in the IPE of EnergyLink opens in a new window' in the Review of International Political Economy (26:1), and have published over 20 articles in a wide range of journals.
Funded Research Projects:
I am a Co-Director of UKERC 2024-2029, and the PI of Theme 3, on 'Geopolitics, Energy Security, and Resilience of Net Zero', which explores the complex geopolitical economies involved in sustainable energy transformations - with a focus on processes of fossil fuel phase out and of low carbon expansions and on the changing political economy of net zero in the UK. There is some emphasis on contestations of net zero policies and how they can be addressed.
Previously I was Principal Investigator of the 'Brexit & Beyond: UK Zero Carbon Energy Policy and PoliticsLink opens in a new window' project which assessed, together with colleagues at Chatham House, the implications of Brexit for UK sustainable energy policy and politics. I held an ESRC Future Research Leaders grant for the project: 'Power Distributions: Sustainable Energy & Municipal Authority'. Before joining Warwick, I worked as a post-doctoral research fellow on an EPSRC funded project, ‘Innovation and GovernanceLink opens in a new window’, on how to improve UK governing for sustainable energy.
Teaching:
I am the module director of the new MA Programme in the Politics of Climate Change for 2025 entry, and the module convenor, lecturer and tutor for: PO3A5 'Politics of Climate Change' (Term 1, UG) and PO9G1 'Politics of Governing for Climate Change' (Term 1, MA) modules.
I am available for PhD supervision in the following areas: political economy of sustainable energy; energy and climate change policy and politics; the (geo-)politics of sustainable energy transformations and fossil fuel phase out; and constructivist IPE. I supervise these PhD students currently:
Yuxin Mo (geopolitics of UK wind energy transition); Rafa Da Silva da Costa (political economy of renewable transitions in Brazil); and Balint Schlett (political economy of EU sustainable finance in MENA region).
Impact & Networks
I have worked with various organisations, local governments, DESNZ, Ofgem, UK100, and MPs to help shape ideas and policies regarding sustainable energy transitions. An example of this work is my co-authored policy briefing outlining the need for a UK Local Sustainable Energy TaskforceLink opens in a new window.
From 2017-2018 I was a Member of West Midlands Combined Authority's (WMCA) Regional Energy Policy Commission on devolution and local sustainable energy policy. The commission published Powering West Midlands Growth: A Regional Approach to Clean Energy Innovation.
I am Co-chair and Co-founder of the European Council for Political Research (ECPR) Standing Group on Energy Politics, Policy, and Governance (Energy-PPG), which organises two sections at the ECPR annual general conference.
Editorial Work
I am on the Editorial Board of Energy Research and Social Science, and a co-editor of the Palgrave Macmillan pivot series on 'Progressive Energy Policy'.