Dr Nathan Wood

I am a Research Fellow on the Just Systems project at the University of Stirling. My research sits at the intersection of systems change and political philosophy, with a specific focus on grounded justice discourses such as energy, environmental, and climate justice. I am interested in the ways complex, shifting systems mediate and compound injustice, moving away from "siloed" interpretations of environmental or energy issues to understand how these systems intersect.

My work often critically engages with energy justice and the predominant ways we relate energy systems and justice. I am particularly interested in the potential of decentralised renewable energy to redefine what communities can "do and be" – a perspective informed by the capabilities approach. Drawing on these frames, my current research focuses on the UK’s transition to Net Zero through a regional lens, examining Scotland’s smallest local authority, Clackmannanshire. I am interested in how a region which may not be the de facto beneficiary of Net Zero can flourish during large-scale systemic changes.

I joined Stirling following a series of international appointments, including a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Fair Energy Consortium (Utrecht University and TU Eindhoven) and a Teaching Fellowship in Applied Ethics at the University of Leeds. I have also been a visiting scholar at the Rachel Carson Centre (Munich), Sejong University (Seoul), and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Boston). I completed my PhD across the Sustainability Research Institute and the Ethics Centre at the University of Leeds. During my time at the Fair Energy Consortium, I also worked with the Social Science and Humanities Centre Knowledge Brokerage scheme, focusing on the development of inclusive energy communities within the Arnhem Municipality (Netherlands).

Critical work on energy and justice.

Community energy and energy democracy.

Grounded justice discourses: energy, environmental, climate justice.

Systemic justice, normative energy ethics, political philosophy.

Capabilities approach.

Climate ethics.