Welcome to my website. I’ve worked on energy systems, economics & policy dimensions of climate change over decades. This site offers a gateway to the research, much of it with great people, at some of the leading research institutions in the UK, and many international collaborations.
My career has spanned academia (Imperial College, Cambridge, UCL) and practical roles in implementation in the UK (the Carbon Trust; the energy regulator Ofgem; and chairing the UK Panel of Technical Experts on Electricity Market Reform). A formative period on international dimensions during 10 years at Chatham House was followed by a shift to domestic and European policy in these roles, cemented as a member of the very first UK Climate Change Committee, established under the UK’s Climate Change Act of 2008. Roles in UK electricity during a period of dramatic transition followed, and it was an honour in 2017 to be selected as Convening Lead Author for Chapter 1 of the IPCC Sixth Assessment on Mitigation.
If you are interested in the work that got me into those positions, and where it’s gone since, it should all be here, along with posts from current roles. Notably, in 2022 I became Strategic Director of the international programme on Economics of Energy Innovation and Systems Transition and in July 2024, we launch a new UCL Centre for Net Zero Market Design.
Given the demonstrably inadequate global progress in tackling climate change, it’s easy to be dismissive or depressed. But the research also testifies to the fact that much has indeed progressed since the early days – when many colleagues asked why I was wasting time on something so trivial and ineffective as renewable energy, or why climate change was even a relevant topic for a serious institution like Chatham House. It also shows how much better we could do, if we had stronger, sounder, more consistently applied policies, grounded in a real understanding of the complementary roles of innovation, investment, markets and regulation.
On this site, the research is grouped around six main fields of my research interests over the years: innovation, carbon pricing, electricity systems & renewables integration, and international processes, along with some more cross-cutting ‘big picture’ and regional studies, and some special topics.
The website is not however intended just as an open archive. New and challenging research is coming down the track. I learned from early days to speak my mind, based on conclusions from the analysis – whether or not the conclusions were fashionable, and whether or not others thought they were too timid, or too radical to be credible. I have some surprises, and new ideas, in store, if they get through academic review, and will post occasional Commentaries and work and events develop.
For anyone interested, I’ll send notices out to connections on LinkedIn and Twitter when I do. Just sign up on the home page” – or via Connection requests to michaeljgrubb, or follow @michaelgrubb9