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Sophie Cogan
PhD Student

Profile

Biography

I hold an MSc in Global Health from King’s College London and undergraduate degree in Politics and Philosophy from the London School of Economics. My research interests centre around the social, political and human impacts of climate change, alongside considerations of global justice. This has recently taken shape through studying global health and climate change, particularly the health of displaced and refugee populations (the topic of my MSc dissertation). Though since completing my Master's programme, I have shifted my focus to broader issues of global justice and climate ethics, becoming increasingly interested in energy policy and the global clean energy transition. This is where my personal interest in physics combined with my academic interests, leading me to consider the implications of fusion technology on a global scale.

Research

Overview

My research aims to analyse the intersection of fusion energy with climate ethics and energy justice on a global scale, questioning how investments in fusion energy are balanced with responsibilities and obligations in these frameworks. While nuclear fusion energy shows increasing potential within the ‘clean energy transition’, there is scant research evaluating the potential social, political, and ethical challenges across development and commercialisation, particularly internationally. Such questions are critical, given the scale of international collaboration, funding and hopes pinned on the success of fusion, and ought to be addressed at an early stage of fusion development.

Contact details

Sophie Cogan
PhD Student
Department of Environment and Geography
University of York
Heslington
York
YO10 5NG