Dr Diana Ivanova

Profile

Research

My research focuses on the environmental impacts embodied in production and consumption activity, particularly energy use and GHG emissions, examining how they may affect planetary boundaries while ensuring adequate satisfaction of human needs. I am particularly interested in connecting sustainability-related policy and practice with issues around justice and social inequalities

I am a researcher on the JUST research centre, which focuses on the pursuit of sustainability transformations that are people-centred, ‘joined-up’ and socially just. Across five regions in the North of England and with national reach and significance, it explores existing initiatives adopted by communities, municipalities, and businesses to pursue low-carbon living. The ambition of JUST is to develop research that understands more effectively and equitably how we can address the social and political barriers meeting the UK’s net zero agenda.

Prior Projects

I was the principle researcher of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (ShaRe) funded by the European Commission on The potential for Sharing Resources for mitigating carbon emissions and other environmental impacts (2019 - 2024). The project aims to better understand the ways in which consumption-based emissions and environmental impacts are embedded in broader socio-cultural and economic trends, particularly changes in household sizes and types and resource sharing. The project further identifies suitable resource sharing interventions at various scales.

I was a member of the UK Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS ) team (2018 – 2023) mainly contributing to the Materials and Products theme. My research contributions to the project involved the direct and embodied energy and carbon distribution associated with UK and EU supply chains as well as various socio-demographics groups and consumption sectors.

I defended my PhD in the Industrial Ecology Programme at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway. My PhD focus was on the environmental impacts of household consumption, from demand patterns to mitigation strategies. I also contributed to EU FP7 project GLAMURS 2014-2016, a large interdisciplinary project concerned with the global transition towards sustainable lifestyles and a green economy. I have a MSc in Economics with a strong focus on environmental economics and econometrics from the University of Gothenburg. Prior to that I received a BSc in Business Administration from Aarhus BSS.

Present PhD students

• Gazi Alif Laila – Climate Hazards, Migration, and Conflict in Bangladesh: Understanding Interactions and Impacts
• Felix Barbour – Degrowth and ecological unequal exchange
• Linmeng Sang – Working time reductions and their role for sustainability in China

Past PhD students

• Dr Marta Baltruszewicz ”Living Well Within Limits: At the Household Level”
• Dr Yannick Oswald ”Living well within limits: analysing inequality and international energy footprints”
• Dr Lena Kilian “Estimating and analysing household greenhouse gas emissions of UK neighbourhoods”
• Dr Ana Maria Arbelaez Velez “Urban Sharing: sustainability and institutionalization pathways”

Past visiting PhD students

• Tobias Riepl – The development of provisioning systems that allow to live well while staying within planetary boundaries (Central European University)

Responsibilities

• Co-Lead of the Econopol Research Cluster
• Faculty Environment Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team Academic Representative

• ShaRe: The potential of Sharing Resources for mitigating carbon emissions and other environmental impacts

Research groups and institutes

• Sustainability Research Institute
• Economics and Policy for Sustainability
• Energy and Climate Change Mitigation