Dr Pepa Ambrosio-Albala

Profile

I am a Research Fellow Fellow in the School of Earth and Environment and School of Process and Chemical Engineering at the University of Leeds with eight years of experience in the fields of climate change and energy. I am currently responsible for the methodological and theoretical design to understand how the UK Steel industry could be decarbonised based on the stakeholders' needs and expectations (CREDS funded project).

I am specialised in people's understanding and behavioural changes to reaching sustainability, mainly in the field of energy technology and energy poverty using mixed methods (quantitative survey, qualitative interviews, focus groups, secondary data analysis). I have ample experience in conducting empirical work related to public and stakeholders engagement and perceptions. My work has provided evidence to communities and local authorities in Spain and Latin America and have informed local authorities and practitioners at UK  and European level.

Previous work included addressing public acceptance and stakeholders' perception of energy technology investigating and leading work on how material and psychological aspects of stakeholders' perception, influence the development of V2G new business models of urban transport demand (UKRI Bus2Grid); understanding public acceptance of energy storage at the community and household level in the UK (EPSRC C-MADEnS; EP/N001745/1); examining the impact of energy market liberalisation on the energy-poor (EPSRC CIE-MAP/ EP/N022645/1) and how energy-vulnerable households' social relations impact on their capacity to withstand energy poverty (White Rose University Consortium Collaboration Fund).

Methods/Methodologies:

• Mixed methods Focus groups, personal interviews, Q-Methodology, secondary qualitative data analysis
• Survey design and analysis
• Theories:Culture theory of risk, energy cultures, sociology of expectations, sense-making

Publications

• Ambrosio-Albala, P.; Upham, P.J ;William F. Gale, W.F. (2023) Normative expectations of government as a policy actor: the case of UK steel industry decarbonisation, International Journal of Sustainable Energy, 42:1, 594-611, DOI: 10.1080/14786451.2023.2217948

•         Ambrosio-Albalá, P.; Bale, C.S.E.; Pimm, A.J.; Taylor, P.G. (2020) What Makes Decentralised Energy Storage Schemes Successful? An Assessment Incorporating Stakeholder Perspectives. Energies 2020, 13, 6490 , doi.org/10.3390/en13246490  

 •       Ambrosio-Albala, P; Middlemiss, L; Owen, A; Hargreaves, T; Emmel, N; Gilbertson, J; Tod, A; Snell, C Mullen, C; Longhurst, N;  Gillard, R; (2020)  From rational to relational: How energy poor households engage with the British retail energy market Energy Research and Social Science.70, 101765, doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101765.

•             Ambrosio-Albala, P; Upham, P; Bale, C.S. Taylor, P.G. (2020) Exploring acceptance of decentralised energy storage at household and neighbourhood scales: a UK survey Energy Policy, 138,111194, doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.111194

•             Middlemiss, L; Ambrosio-Albala, P; Emmel, N; Gillard, R; Gilbertson, J; Hargreaves, T; Mullen, C; Ryan, T; Snell, C; Tod, A; (2019) Energy poverty and social relations: characterising vulnerabilities using a capabilities approach.  Energy Research and Social Science.55,227-235 ; doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2019.05.002

•             Ambrosio-Albala, P; Upham, P; Bale, C.S. (2019)“Purely ornamental? Public perceptions of distributed energy storage in the United Kingdom Energy Research and Social Science. 48, 139-150, doi.org.10.1016/j.erss.2018.09.014

•             Ambrosio-Albala, P; Delgado-Serrano, M.M (2018). Understanding Climate Change Perception in Community-Based Management Contexts: Perspectives of Two Indigenous Communities.   Wea. Climate Soc., 10, 471–485, doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-17-0049.1

Research interests

• Public perception and acceptance of new/sustainable energy technologies and stakeholders engagement
• Understanding of energy uses and behaviours, energy storage,
• Energy vulnerability/poverty
• Climate change and risk perception, attitudes towards sustainable behaviours
• Qualitative/quantitative methodologies for the study of public perceptions and attitudes, mixed methods approach

Qualifications

• PhD, Climate change perception in CBNRM contexts, University of Cordoba
• Erasmus Mundus MSc, Rural Development, Ghent University/ Wageningen Universiteit
• BA, Sociology, University of Salamanca

Research groups and institutes

• Energy and Climate Change Mitigation
• Social and Political Dimensions of Sustainability
• Sustainability Research Institute