Personal profile
Biography
My research and policy interests lie at the intersection of energy geographies, urban socio-spatial inequality and sustainability science. I am driven by a deep commitment to confront infrastructural and environmental injustices across the world, focusing on energy poverty in particular. I have undertaken extensive advocacy and policy-orientated work in collaboration with the United Nations, World Bank, International Energy Agency and the European Union. I co-founded and chaired the European Union Energy Poverty Observatory, as well as the ENGAGER Action (European Energy Poverty: Agenda Co-Creation and Knowledge Innovation), the largest international network of energy poverty experts and practitioners.
My research involves quantitative and qualitative data analyses of energy consumption, vulnerability, consumer engagement, policy formulation and effectiveness in various European, Asian and African states as well as the UK. I have also examined the wider lived experience and political consequences associated with social inequalities in cities. My work in these domains is presented in the monographs Energy Poverty (Palgrave, 2018), Retrofitting the City (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, 2016) and Energy Poverty in Eastern Europe (Ashgate/Routledge 2007) as well as two co-edited collections (Research Companion to Energy Geographies, Energy Poverty and Vulnerability, Routledge, 2017) and a textbook (Energy and Society, Routledge,2018).
Underpinning much of my work is a desire to develop innovative methods for conceptualizing and representing space and territory (New Worlds from Old Texts, Oxford University Press, 2016).
A grantee of the European Research Council between 2013 and 2018 (via the EVALUATE project), I have received research funding for more than 50 projects supported by the European Union, UK research councils, as well as various corporate and charitable bodies.
I have held visiting university appointments in Bergen, Gdansk, Prague, Berlin, Stockholm, Bruges and Brisbane. I was a Junior Research Fellow at Christ Church College, Oxford, between 2004 and 2007, having previously been awarded a Larkinson Scholarship at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, as well as the University of Oxford’s Scatcherd and Dulverton Scholarships.
I was one of the founding members of the Royal Geographical Society’s Energy Geographies Research Group, and I have sat or currently sit on the Editorial Boards of Energy and Buildings, European Urban and Regional Studies, Energies, Energy Research and Social Science, Acta Geographica Universitatis Carolinae, Bulletin of Geography and Acta Geobalcanica.
In 2019, I was named an ‘ordinary hero’ in the European Commission’s EU Protects campaign, for my efforts to combat energy poverty and reduce social inequality. In 2021, my research was shortlisted for a Times Higher Education award, as well as a Falling Walls prize.
I have been actively engaged as a research grant evaluator for over 20 years. I am currently Vice-Chair of the ESRC's Grant Asessment Panel A, and have also been engaged in a similar capacity for the European Commission and National Science Foundation, as well as reseach organisations and councils in Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, France, Ireland, Qatar, Canada and others.
My key current and past academic posts include:
- Since 2013: Professor of Geography, University of Manchester and Director of the People and Energy Programme, Manchester Urban Institute;
- 2007-2012: Professor of Human Geography and Research Group Leader (previously Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Human Geography), University of Birmingham;
- 2004-2007: Senior Research Associate, School of Geography, University of Oxford;
- 2003-2005: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Geography, Queen Mary, University of London.
Qualifications
•2017: Habilitation, University of Krakow;
•2009: Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching for Higher Education, University of Birmingham;
•2003: DPhil, School of Geography, University of Oxford;
•2000: M.Sc. (Distinction) in Environmental Change and Management, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford;
•1999: B.A. Geography, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Skopje.
Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms
- Energy
- Global inequalities
- Sustainable Futures
- Manchester Environmental Research Institute
- Digital Futures
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 1 No Poverty
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
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SDG 4 Quality Education
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SDG 5 Gender Equality
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SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation
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SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
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SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
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SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
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SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
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SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
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SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
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SDG 13 Climate Action
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SDG 15 Life on Land
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SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
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SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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(Re-)locating ‘place’ in energy demand: Implications for research and policy
Marsden, G., Bouzarovski, S., Balani, K., Bodden, S., Kasprowicz, V., Martiskainen, M., Rattle, I., Sugar, K. & Wade, F., 2025, In: Geoforum.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Addressing energy poverty in the private rented sector across Europe: A comprehensive analysis of over 100 policies through the lens of energy justice
Papantonis, D., Stavrakas, V., Burbidge, M., Bouzarovski, S. & Flamos, A., 2025, In: Energy Sources. Part B. Economics, Planning, and Policy. 20, 1Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Community-based energy governance and the political: Towards a post-foundational energy democracy
Koga, H., Petrova, S. & Bouzarovski, S., 15 Mar 2025, In: Progress in Environmental Geography . 4, 1, p. 24 43 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Energy democratisation through agrivoltaics? The territorialisation dynamics of community-based energy governance in Japan
Koga, H., Bouzarovski, S. & Petrova, S., 22 Mar 2025, In: Sustainability Science.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Networked, fragmented, unequal: The emergent landscape of home energy advice provision in England
Bouzarovski, S., Karpinska, L., Sugar, K. & Smiech, S., 1 Aug 2025, In: Applied Geography. 181, 103682.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access
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People, Place and Energy Research Centre (PPERC)
Bouzarovski, S. (CoI), Bellamy, R. (CoI), Barragan Contreras, S. J. (Researcher), Barrow, J. (Researcher), Blakey, J. (Researcher), Burbidge, M. (Researcher), Chiarapini, E. (Researcher), Crowther, A. (Researcher), Fearn, G. (Researcher), Hope, A. (Researcher), Iazzolino, G. (Researcher), Jayyousi, M. M. R. (Researcher), Jenatton, M. (Researcher), Karaoud, A. (Researcher), Kaur, R. (Researcher), Knox, H. (CoI), Koutlou, A. (Researcher), Kuriakose, J. (Researcher), Lansell, E. (Researcher), Lucas, K. (Researcher), MacGregor, S. (Researcher), Mininni, G. (Researcher), Mylan, J. (Researcher), Narayan, U. (Researcher), Newbould, M. (Researcher), Nimmo, R. (Researcher), O'Rourke, A. (Researcher), O'Neill, J. (Researcher), O'Brien, S. (Researcher), Paterson, M. (Researcher), Petrova, S. (Researcher), Sambrook, K. (Researcher), Shaw, A. (Researcher), Simsek, K. F. (Researcher), Sugar, K. (CoI), Swift, A. (Researcher), Waller, L. (Researcher), Wang, D. (Researcher), Welch, D. (Researcher), Zhao, Y. (CoI) & Zhou, S. (Researcher)
1/10/25 → …
Project: Research
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The Centre for Joined-Up Sustainability Transformations (JUST)
MacGregor, S. (PI), Bouzarovski, S. (CoI), Evans, J. (CoI), Holmes, H. (CoI), Hoolohan, C. (CoI), Paterson, M. (CoI) & Odunmbaku, O. (Support team)
3/02/25 → 2/02/30
Project: Research
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Hydrogen Research Corridor
Holmes, S. (Researcher), Azapagic, A. (Researcher), Atas, A. (Researcher), Walton, A. (Researcher), Smith, A. (Researcher), Larkin, A. (Researcher), Lea-Langton, A. (Researcher), Keshmiri, A. (Researcher), Geim, A. (Researcher), Forsyth, A. (Researcher), Mcmeekin, A. (Researcher), Welfle, A. (Researcher), Jivkov, A. (Researcher), Frankowska, A. (Researcher), Green, A. (Researcher), Garforth, A. (Researcher), Connolly, B. (Researcher), McLachlan, C. (Researcher), D'Agostino, C. (Researcher), Hollis, C. (Researcher), Abeykoon, C. (Researcher), Hardacre, C. (Researcher), De Leeuwe, C. (Researcher), Jones, C. (Researcher), Whitehead , C. (Researcher), Gough, C. (Researcher), Lewis, D. (Researcher), Clery, D. (Researcher), Engelberg, D. (Researcher), Martinez-Cesena, E. (Researcher), Rutter, E. (Researcher), Scenini, F. (Researcher), Siperstein, F. (Researcher), Livens, F. (Researcher), Currell, F. (Researcher), Holland, G. (Researcher), Butler, G. (Researcher), Ivan De Loureiro Pereira, G. (Researcher), Coe, H. (Researcher), Chernyavsky, I. (Researcher), Kuriakose, J. (Researcher), Evans, J. (Researcher), Lloyd, J. (Researcher), Apsley, J. (Researcher), Harou, J. (Researcher), Moore, K. (Researcher), Taylor, K. (Researcher), Li, K. (Researcher), Stamford, L. (Researcher), Sarkisov, L. (Researcher), Li, L. (Researcher), Ma, L. (Researcher), Huuse, M. (Researcher), Lozada Hidalgo, M. (Researcher), Perez-Page, M. (Researcher), Attfield, M. (Researcher), Schröder, M. (Researcher), Babaei, M. (Researcher), Iacchetti, M. (Researcher), Hodson, M. (Researcher), Freer, M. (Researcher), Bassil, N. (Researcher), Zhang, N. (Researcher), Bourne, N. (Researcher), Turner, N. (Researcher), Scrutton, N. (Researcher), Kaltsoyannis, N. (Researcher), Ejohwomu, O. (Researcher), Dewick, P. (Researcher), Jarman, P. (Researcher), Budd, P. (Researcher), Martin, P. (Researcher), Boya, R. (Researcher), Raveendran Nair, R. (Researcher), Bellamy, R. (Researcher), Dryfe, R. (Researcher), Smith, A. (Researcher), Haigh, S. (Researcher), Lindley, S. (Researcher), Chansai, S. (Researcher), MacGregor, S. (Researcher), Yang, S. (Researcher), Nixon, S. (Researcher), Bouzarovski, S. (Researcher), Abbas, S. Z. (Researcher), Joekar-Niasar, V. (Researcher), Spallina, V. (Researcher), Flavell, W. (Researcher), Bodel, W. (Researcher) & Fan, X. (Researcher)
Project: Research
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Study on transport poverty: definition, indicators, determinants and mitigation strategies (EU Tender)
Bouzarovski, S. (PI), Lucas, K. (CoI) & Radzuan, H. (Researcher)
1/03/23 → 30/04/24
Project: Research
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POWER UP: Social energy market players to tackle energy poverty (AWARD)
Petrova, S. (PI) & Bouzarovski, S. (CoI)
1/09/21 → 31/08/25
Project: Research
Prizes
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EU recognises Stefan Bouzarovski as an ‘ordinary hero’
Bouzarovski, S. (Recipient), Sept 2019
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Falling Walls Prize
Bouzarovski, S. (Recipient), 15 Sept 2021
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Jim Lewis Prize
Bouzarovski, S. (Recipient) & Tirado-Herrero, S. (Recipient), 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Times Higher Education Award
Bouzarovski, S. (Recipient) & Thomson, H. (Recipient), 25 Nov 2021
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
- 1 Membership of committee
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Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) (External organisation)
Bouzarovski, S. (Vice-chair)
2020 → …Activity: Membership › Membership of committee › Research
Impacts
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Transforming European energy poverty policy
Bouzarovski, S. (Participant) & Petrova, S. (Participant)
Impact: Political impacts, Legal impacts, Policy, Awareness and understanding
Press/Media
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More ambitious energy efficiency measures are needed
22/11/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert comment
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FINANCIAL TIMES: Letter: Don’t limit energy measures to fiscal policy
6/09/22
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert comment
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Europe faces cruel winter as power crisis threatens to swamp aid
8/10/21
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert comment