Primary Program
About
Timothy Laing is a Senior Fellow in the Utilities and Renewables Program at KAPSARC, specializing in critical minerals and their role in sustainable energy transitions. An expert in environmental, natural resource, and development economics, he has held academic positions at institutions including the University of Brighton, the University of Cambridge, and the London School of Economics. He has also worked as a consultant for organizations such as the World Bank and the International Council on Mining and Metals. He holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, and his research focuses on mining policy, carbon markets, and international carbon mechanisms.
Education
2010-10-01 - 2014-11-30
London School of Economics & Political Science
PhD - Environmental Economics
2004-10-04 - 2005-09-30
University of Sussex
Master - Development Economics
1999-09-01 - 2003-06-30
Nottingham University
Bachelor - Economics
Publications
07 July 2026
“Manufactured Criticalities”: How Sulfuric Acid Is Choking the Energy Transition
The February 2026 disruption of the Strait of Hormuz revealed a category of supply chain vulnerabilities that conventional energy security frameworks pay limited attention to. This paper introduces the concept of “manufactured criticalities” – industrial intermediaries whose strategic...
02 February 2025
Concrete: The Non-Critical, Critical MaterialThe paper is a commentary on key questions facing the relationship between concrete, the energy transition and the global move to net-zero.
