Harper is the business area manager for Aether’s work with UK local authorities. Since 2017, he has worked with over forty Local Authorities on climate change mitigation and adaptation planning, from the Shetland Islands to the City of London, and has an excellent understanding of how local authorities operate. He believes passionately in the importance of taking local action on climate change, and is motivated by the desire to help communities get the most benefit from the work.

As a senior member of the technical team, Harper is responsible for leading complex projects that span climate change strategy development, evidence/data analysis, policy advice, and stakeholder engagement. All of his work is underpinned by rigorous analysis and research, but an equally important part of his job is to translate and communicate technical information to a wide range of audiences.

Harper advises on decarbonisation options across all sectors, but specialises in the built environment, drawing on nine years in the construction industry. He has worked with numerous planning authorities to advise on sustainable design policies and produce guidance documents. From 2022-23 he was part of an industry working group developing the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard. He has a strong professional and personal interest in historic buildings, circular economy principles and climate adaptive design.

Harper’s favourite projects are ones where the client starts off by saying: “We have a question, but there is no established methodology for answering it. Can you come up with something?” He enjoys applying his knowledge in a creative way, and coming up with new solutions that stand up to scrutiny, while drawing on the best available evidence. In the past few years, examples have included:

• Developing a methodology for assessing the GHG impacts of coastal erosion and coastal management, on behalf of North Norfolk District Council and the Environment Agency
• Estimating the annual emissions from cooling and air conditioning in the UK as part of a £5m research project funded by DESNZ, the results of which were presented at COP26
• Working with the UK Green Building Council to advise on a ‘fair share’ carbon budget for the UK building sector that would comply with the Paris Agreement
• Reviewing climate adaptation plans for more than 60 Scottish public bodies, and producing a database of the costs and benefits of adaptation measures they contain

Outside of work, Harper is an active member of a local improvised comedy group. He also likes wildlife gardening (a.k.a. doing very little, sitting with a beer, and watching nature take over).

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