Mathilde Rainard

Profile

I am a PhD researcher working at the Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) at the University of Leeds and funded by the Centre for Research in Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS) based at the University of Oxford. My PhD will focus on taking an intersectional approach towards justice implications of energy demand reduction policies in the housing and transport sectors in the United Kingdom and France to generate policy recommendations for a fairer net-zero transition.

I have achieved my MSc in Climate Change and Environmental Policy at the University of Leeds in 2021 after studying politics, law and economics as an undergraduate and postgraduate student at Sciences-Po in France.

I worked from 2017 to 2020 in the private sector and in 2022 for UNFCCC as part of their Gender and Action for Climate Empowerment Team, where I supported research and negotiations efforts. For my research I engage with citizens as well as actors in the public and private sectors to encourage collaborative decision making in the context of the net-zero transition.

Research interests

I am particularly interested in studying issues related to low carbon energy transitions fairness. Especially issues related to vulnerability linked to social factors such as gender, ethnicity, income, education, (dis)ability and age.

I also focus on the role of interdisciplinarity to enhance tangible policy recommendations in the context of the net zero transition. Notably, I use and encourage the use of social science methods within environmental research, especially feminist methods.

Qualifications

• MSc Climate Change and Environmental Policy, University of Leeds
• MA Law, Economics and Finance, mention Strategy, Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Strasbourg
• BA Politics, Law and Economics, Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Strasbourg