Policy, Society and Environment

Decarbonisation is a complex societal challenge that involves multiple stakeholders at national, regional, and local levels. The historically top-down governance approach of the UK energy system continues to struggle with addressing this challenge. 

The issues are compounded further when it comes to the subsurface, which by its nature is highly variable and site-specific.  

As the different local attributes of the subsurface dictate which types of energy systems can be used at any given site, there can be no “one-size-fits-all” approach. Subsurface systems cannot be delineated along administrative boundaries, such as local authority areas, which typically govern surface developments. 

Resolving these tensions to bring geological low-carbon energy resources into a unified economic and decision-making framework will be essential to maximising the opportunities afforded by the energy transition. 

We are helping to facilitate this process through interdisciplinary research, bringing together researchers in geosciences, engineering and social sciences. Expertise within the University’s Sustainability Research Institute and Priestley Centre for Climate Futures is addressing the policy and governance challenges specific to the subsurface. Working closely with our geoscientists ensures that these issues are integrated from the start of any project. 

We are collaborating with local authorities in the Yorkshire and Humber region, particularly the city of Leeds, to establish a pilot and test bed for low-carbon subsurface energy schemes. Leeds has the potential to exploit a variety of energy systems linked to the subsurface, such as geothermal heat extraction, energy storage, and mine water geothermal, and is an ideal place to consider how integrating diverse energy systems might work in practice.