Professor Charlie Wilson joins ECI as leader of the Energy Programme

He joins the institute after 11 years at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of East Anglia, where he researched the intersections between innovation, behaviour and policy in the fields of energy and climate change mitigation.

Before academia, in the 1990s, Charlie worked in fast-paced private sector roles in renewable energy finance and climate change policy.

"It was an exciting and dynamic time," recalls Charlie. "Renewables were starting to grow rapidly and at scale, and there was a lot of interest in carbon markets. But there wasn't much time to reflect on the underlying processes at work and why climate mitigation wasn't succeeding at scale."

Charlie embarked on an academic career to answer these questions both from a systems perspective and at the micro level. He studied his PhD at the University of British Columbia in Canada and then held post-doctoral positions at Chalmers University in Sweden and the London School of Economics, before moving to the Tyndall Centre.

He describes a sense of excitement at now joining the oldest university in the world. "The whole spirit of intellectual inquiry associated with Oxford is really inspiring. And I've obviously been well aware of ECI, its energy programme and the fantastic work they do around energy demand and energy policy," he says.

Charlie will bring an international perspective to his leadership of the programme through links with global climate mitigation modelling teams, and international organisations such as Mission Innovation. His medium-term goal is to build on the energy programme's strong track record of national and local impact through more globally-focused scientific contributions and policy influence.

Having attended COP26 - his first COP since 2001 - Charlie is broadly optimistic about the future of energy. "I came away from Glasgow quite energised by the unambiguous sense of direction and momentum. Although progress is still too slow, the agreement to monitor and ratchet up ambition on an annual basis rather than every five years is a clear statement of purpose from the international community."

This welcome pressure will also bring challenges, states Charlie. Particularly when it comes to the integration of all the different ways we use energy and how this is delivered through markets. "That's exactly where the energy programme can bring its expertise," he states.

"I'm delighted to welcome Professor Wilson to the Environmental Change Institute," says Michael Obersteiner, Director of ECI. "He brings a wealth of experience in scientific activity and policy influence at the highest levels and I am excited to see what the Energy Programme achieves under his leadership."