About

Josh is a Senior Policy Fellow, at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment where he leads the policy analysis team on UK climate and energy policy. From July – December 2023 Josh was seconded to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) as an expert policy advisor working on Carbon Dioxide Removal policy and governance.

Josh has recently worked with the OECD on modelling the distributional impacts of climate policy on UK households. Josh has also been a consultant to the World Bank, the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Taiwanese Environmental Protection Administration and the Welsh Parliament under the Research Service Brexit Academic Framework Agreement. He has also worked with a range of private sector companies and has provided evidence to members of the House of Commons and House of Lords select Committees on energy and climate change policy.

Josh is a rostered expert with the United Nations Environment Programme and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Background

Prior to joining the Grantham Institute, Josh was a Senior Research Fellow at Policy Exchange where he led the Energy and Environment department. He was responsible for designing, leading and delivering existing and new research projects focused on energy and environmental policies which respond to the most important questions the UK faces, as well as writing articles, organising events, and talking to policymakers, experts and opinion formers from government, academia, NGOs, Parliament and business.

Before this he worked as a Project Manager in an AiM listed renewable energy project developer focussing on distributed generation. His professional experience also includes work in the public policy sphere at both Chatham House and The Overseas Development Institute. He has a BSc in Geography from the University of Nottingham, and an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London.

Research and policy interests

  • Carbon pricing
  • Carbon dioxide removal
  • Decarbonization pathways
  • Net zero policy
  • Distributional impacts analysis

Research

Research - 2022

Research - 2021

Policy

Policy - 2023

Policy - 2022

This submission to the UK ETS Authority consultation on ‘Developing the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)’ provides evidence on implementing a net zero consistent ETS cap, Free Allocation policy, the expansion of the UK ETS to additional sectors, and incorporating greenhouse gas removal into the scheme. Read more

Policy - 2021

The UK's net-zero commitment assumes the use of greenhouse gas removal (GGR) technologies, but there is little understanding of how they might be funded and who will bear the cost. This study prepared for the National Infrastructure Commission analyses how the distribution of costs for funding these technologies impacts society across income deciles. Read more

There has been a resurgence in the debate around Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAMs) and the role they may play in preserving the effectiveness of climate action in high ambition countries. This report explores how the European Union’s CBAM, announced to come into force by the end of 2022, might affect the UK. Read more

Policy - 2020

This study explores the distributional impacts of a net-zero-consistent carbon price across different household types and income deciles in the UK; and examines which combination of interventions may reduce carbon consumption and still be progressive. The authors find that it is possible to design a revenue recycling scheme that leaves fuel-poor and low-income households better off while driving the transition to net-zero emissions in the UK by 2050. Read more

Policy - 2019

This submission was made to the Environment Agency's consultation on its draft strategy for flood and coastal risk management in England, and draws on the Grantham Research Institute's work and expertise over many years in this area. Read more

News

News - 2024

News - 2023

News - 2022

News - 2021

People are most likely to support climate policies that they consider to be fair. With the recent rise in alarmist rhetoric around the ‘cost’ of net-zero and the need to ensure a just low-carbon transition, Josh Burke explores the case for recycling the proceeds of a carbon tax back to households. Read more

News - 2020

News - 2019

News - 2018

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