Profile
Nick Eyre is Emeritus Professor of Energy and Climate Policy and a Supernumerary Fellow of Oriel College.
He was founding Co-Director of the Zero Carbon Energy Research Institute (Zero Institute), which is the University's investment in energy system transformation research.
From 2018 to 2023, Nick was Director of the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions, the hub for energy demand research in the UK. As part of this role, he was the End Use Energy Demand Champion for UK Research and Innovations' Energy Programme.
From 2015 to 2022, Nick was a Co-Director of the Oxford Martin Programme on Integrating Renewable Energy, which undertook research on the combined, technical, economic, social and policy issues in moving to electricity systems with very high levels of variable renewables.
From 2007 to 2017, Nick was Jackson Senior Research Fellow and Programme Leader for Energy in the ECI. In this period, he was a Co-Director of the multi-university collaboration, the UK Energy Research Centre, leading its research work on energy demand (2007–2014) and decision-making (2014–2017). He was a Co-Investigator within the Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium from 2011–2017.
Before joining the ECI, Nick had worked as a researcher, consultant and manager on energy and environmental issues since 1984. From 1999 to 2007, he worked at the Energy Saving Trust, initially as Head of Policy and, from 2002, as Director of Strategy. He was responsible for the Trust's work on public policy issues, business development and long-term business strategy. In 2001, he was seconded to the Cabinet Office, Performance and Innovation Unit, where he was a co-author of the Government's 2002 Review of Energy Policy. He led workstreams on energy efficiency and long-term energy scenarios.
Previously, Nick worked as a researcher and analyst on energy and environment issues, initially in the Energy Technology Support Unit (ETSU) and then as an independent consultant. He was one of the UK's first researchers on mitigation of carbon emissions, and was co-author of a presentation to the Cabinet on this issue in 1989. In 1997, he wrote the first published study on how the Government's 20% carbon emission reduction target might be delivered. He has advised successive Government ministers and a wide range of Parliamentary inquiries. He managed a large European Commission programme on the external costs of energy and was lead author of the report used as the basis for the UK Government's first estimate of the social cost of carbon.
Nick holds an MA in Physics and D.Phil in Nuclear Physics from the University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of the Energy Institute and an Honorary Fellow of the Society for the Environment. He is a member of the DESNZ Science Expert Group.
He was a County Councillor in Oxfordshire from 1987 to 1993, taking an active role in the development of Oxfordshire's first environmental strategy, traffic calming, CFC capture and opposition to new road building. He currently acts as a scientific advisor on climate change to Oxford City Council.
Research
Nick's long term research interest is the role of public policy in reducing energy demand and carbon emissions, in the context that progress will require a combination of technical, social and policy change. His current research interests cover:
- The zero carbon energy transition
- The transition to zero carbon heat
- Energy markets
- Policy instruments for energy efficiency and energy demand reduction
- The role of local government and local communities in energy
- Integration of renewable energy into energy systems
External appointments
- 2010–2015: UK Green Energy Supply Certification Scheme Panel member
- 2010–2014: Lead Author: 'Buildings' Working Group III, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 5th Assessment Report
- 2011–2016: Member, Ofgem Sustainable Development Advisory Group
- 2012–2016: Member, Energy Policy Panel, Institution of Engineering & Technology
- 2012–2017: Member, University of Oxford Sustainability Steering Group
- 2013–2018: Ambassador, European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
- 2013–2018: Advisory Group for the EPSRC Centre on The Dynamics of Energy, Mobility and Demand (DEMAND). Chair, 2015–2018
- 2013–2014: Member, Ofgem Capacity Assessment Academic Advisory Group
- 2014 (ongoing): Editorial Board, Energy Efficiency
- 2014–2017: Executive Committee member, European Energy Research Alliance
- 2015–2018: Advisory Group for the EPSRC Centre on Energy Epidemiology
- 2015–2019: Steering group, Low Carbon Oxford
- 2016–2019: International Advisory Board Retail, Innogy SE
- 2017 (ongoing): International Advisory Board, Energy Policy
- 2018–2022: Review Editor: ‘Demand, Services and Social Aspects of Mitigation’, Working Group III, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 6th Assessment Report
- 2018–2020: Panel Member, Ofgem Redress Panel
- 2019–2021: BEIS Heat Roadmap Strategic Advisory Group
- 2019: Oxford Climate Change Citizens Assembly Advisory Group
- 2019–2020: Academic Panel, UK Parliament Climate Change Citizens Assembly
- 2020 (ongoing): Scientific Advisor on Climate Change, Oxford City Council
- 2021 (ongoing): UKERC Advisory Board
- 2021 (ongoing): BEIS Science Expert Group, now DESNZ Science Expert Group
- 2023 (ongoing): Scottish Climate Change Plan Advisory Group
Featured Publications
- Barrett, J., Pye, S., Betts-Davies, S., Broad, O., Price, J., Eyre, N., Anable, J., Brand, C., Bennett, G., Carr-Whitworth, R., Garvey, A., Giesekam, J., Marsden, G., Norman, J., Oreszczyn, T., Ruyssevelt, P. and Scott, K. (2022) Energy demand reduction options for meeting national zero-emission targets in the United Kingdom. Nature Energy. doi: 10.1038/s41560-022-01057-y
- Eyre, N. (2021) From using heat to using work: reconceptualising the zero carbon energy transition. Energy Efficiency 14(7): 77.
- Lees, E. and N. Eyre (2021). Thirty years of climate mitigation: lessons from the 1989 options appraisal for the UK. Energy Efficiency 14(4): 37. doi: 10.1007/s12053-021-09951-2