Leo Mercer
Leo works on a variety of UK net-zero policy areas, including carbon pricing, just transition, the voluntary carbon market and decarbonisation of the land use sector.
Background
Leo has a background in environmental science and geography and completed a PhD in Environmental Studies at Victoria University of Wellington in 2020. His thesis explored the role of carbon forestry, registered under the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, as a land development option for Māori landowners. Subsequent to this, he was employed as a policy analyst at the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries on a work programme to develop an agricultural emissions pricing mechanism to support New Zealand farmers and growers to reduce emissions in line with statutory obligations.
Research interests
- Decarbonisation pathways for the UK land use sector
- The voluntary carbon market
- Nature and technology based greenhouse gas removal approaches and associated MRV frameworks
- Distributional impacts of carbon pricing
Policy
Policy - 2023
This report provides a detailed characterisation of low-carbon jobs from the last decade in the United States and the United Kingdom, bringing new evidence to support policy discussions. Read more
News
News - 2022
A rumoured plan from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to dramatically restrict solar panels on farmland in the UK will not help food security – which is threatened far more by climate change – let alone energy security, and is at odds with the Government’s Net Zero Strategy. The UK should be seeking to invest and innovate in ‘Agri-PV’ schemes instead, writes Leo Mercer. Read more
