Exploring the Spatial-Temporal Variability of Gas Consumption Within England and Wales: An Assessment of the Residential Sector Using Sequence Analysis.

The UK housing stock is home to one of the most inefficient in Europe and has an overreliance of natural gas as a heating source. The consequence of this is a highly polluting sector which has not seen the relatively high fall in emissions that other large polluting sectors have. If the UK wants to meet its net zero target by 2050, its vital the sector de-carbonises. Spatial-temporal analysis will be used to track key consumption trends, such as areas of high consumption, areas where consumption is falling rapidly, or equally, areas which have always saw a low level of consumption. Observing these trends is vital for policy makers alike, as certain policies can be targeted towards individual areas to help the de-carbonisation process. This study analyses gas consumption at the MSOA level from the year 2011-2019. Sequence and cluster analyses are applied to identify key spatial trajectories in decarbonisation. The characteristics of the clusters identified are contextualised with a range of spatial datasets representing the built environment, demographic and socio-economic factors.