Steve Harry is a Research Associate in the Department of Political Economy at King's College London, working on a Climate Social Science Network-funded project examining the influence of trade unions on UK gas policy. He also works as an independent researcher with Climate Strategies, an international climate policy research organisation.

Steve has been teaching at King's since 2019, most recently as Lecturer in Human Geography and personal tutor (2024-2025). He has also supervised postgraduate dissertations in the Department of International Development (2023).

In 2022, Steve completed his PhD at King's in the Department of Geography. His thesis explores the spatial politics of energy transition through analysis of the relations between capital, land and energy, with empirical research on island wind energy projects in Norway and Scotland.

Steve has a background working in fields outside and related to academia, including market and social research, the built environment and ecological charity sector, and academic library services. He also worked as a drum teacher, community music worker and professional musician.

Research projects

Steve is currently working with Tomas Maltby on 'The influence of trade unions on UK gas policy: Phasing out, phasing down or business as usual?' examining how UK fossil fuel trade unions use Just Transition discourse to influence gas phaseout and climate policies.

With Climate Strategies, Steve contributes to the 'Just Transitions in Motion' project, creating a practical Just Transition Taxonomy through stakeholder dialogues. His recent policy work includes recommendations for the UNFCCC's Just Transition Work Programme at COP30 and co-developing frameworks for international just transition coordination.

Steve is also co-ordinating an interdisciplinary project on worker-centred just transitions, bringing together collaborators including Anita Hammer, Tomas Maltby, Damien Grimshaw (all KCL), and Moushumi Basu (Jawaharlal Nehru University). This initiative recentres workers—particularly informal and global South workers—within just transition frameworks through workshops, conference panels, a special issue for International Labour Review, and international networks examining just transitions across North-South divides.

Additionally, Steve is co-designing a major research project on the political economy of energy infrastructure decommissioning with Tomas Maltby and Sarah Bracking (both KCL) and third sector partners (Platform, Polluter Pays Project), currently under consideration for research funding. This work explores the socio-economic implications of winding down fossil fuel extraction and related infrastructures.

Previous and ongoing research

From 2023-2024, Steve worked on 'Just Transitions and power shifts: capital, labour and energy in the North Sea region,' exploring the socio-political implications of the shift from oil and gas towards green energy in the UK and Norway, with Tomas Maltby, Alex Loftus (both KCL), and Kacper Szulecki (Oslo).

This research aligns with Steve's ongoing work exploring the geographies, politics and processes of decarbonisation, including the role of islands as generative sites for understanding energy transitions and futures.

Research interests

• Energy geographies and the politics of energy transitions
• Political ecology and historical geographical materialism
• Climate politics: obstructionism, delay tactics and climate justice
• Labour environmentalism and labour-nature relations
• Just transitions and stakeholder engagement
• Energy landscapes and island studies
• Science-policy interface and knowledge translation

Teaching and supervision

Most recently (2024-2025), Steve was Lecturer in Human Geography, Module Convenor for Growing Up Urban, and Personal Tutor to over 50 undergraduate and postgraduate students. His teaching has spanned undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Geography and Climate Change, including module delivery, seminar leadership, fieldwork supervision, and postgraduate dissertation supervision.

Modules taught (2024-2025, Department of Geography): Geography Tutorials (Critical Thinking & Techniques), Geography in Action, BA Geography Research Tutorials, Independent Geographical Study, Growing Up Urban, Practicing Social Research (Masters Climate Change), Research Design and Project Management (Masters Climate Change), Geography PGT Dissertations.

Previously taught (2019-2023): Critical Geopolitics, Development Geographies, Field Research in Human Geography, Geographical Foundations, Geographical Research Skills, Principles of Geographical Inquiry, 'Right to the City' (all Department of Geography); MSc (Emerging Economies and International Development) Dissertation Supervision (Department of International Development).