We have 2 PhD positions advertised at Leeds that you might be interested in, please consider applying / forwarding to potential candidates. Please note that only applicants who qualify for UK fees status will be eligible.
The application deadline is 6 March 2026.
Both positions are associated with the Production and Consumption Transformations (PACT) Centre<https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/directories0/dir-record/research-projects/2189/production-and-consumption-transformations-pact-centre>, led by Prof John Barrett at the University of Leeds, UK.
The second PhD position is on the Political Economy of Production and Consumption Transformations<https://phd.leeds.ac.uk/project/2418-political-economy-of-production-and-consumption-transformations>, supervised by Dr Richard Bärnthaler Dr Charles Dannreuther.
We are offering a fully funded PhD scholarship in the Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment for one UK candidate starting in October 2026.
Full description
This fully funded PhD place provides an exciting opportunity to pursue postgraduate research on the political economy of the UK’s industrial transformation. The scholarship will be part of the Production and Consumption Transformations (PACT) Centre which is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the UK Government Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
The project will focus on the political economy of production and consumption transformations in the UK. We are particularly interested in examining (1) the political-economic dynamics along production–consumption chains within specific sectors and strategies for intervention, (2) the actors, coalitions, and institutional arrangements that can align industrial strategy with climate and social-ecological goals, and (3) the policy levers needed to bridge production and consumption to catalyse systemic change. As part of this PhD scholarship, there is an option to spend up to six months at DESNZ through a secondment.
The PhD scholarship will be part of the Production and Consumption Transformations (PACT) Centre which is funded by UK Research and Innovation and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (2025-2029). The PACT centre examines options for the UK to meet its carbon reduction targets through transformations of production and consumption systems.
This PhD project takes a political economy approach to examine how structural conditions – such as modes of regulation, systems of economic governance, geopolitical and geoeconomic shifts, capital dynamics, and prevailing norms – interact with key actors, including labour and capital factions, consumers, civil society, and the state. It investigates these interactions within a specific sector (e.g., construction, automotive) and along production-consumption chains, from extraction and manufacturing to distribution and end-user consumption. The goal is to understand how these dynamics enable or constrain systemic changes in production and consumption. As such, the project also explores strategic entry points, alliances, and institutional arrangements that can align industrial strategy with short-term climate goals (2030) and long-term resilience (2050), while also considering broader implications for the nature crisis and the need to ensure a just transition.