News
Here's a selection of the latest content on the Scientists for Global Responsibility website.
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Resources
Finlay Asher, Safe Landing, assesses the technical obstacles to the decarbonisation of aviation - and finds they are substantial.
29 April 2022
Dr Emily Heath, SGR, shares 9 tips based on her experience of leading and supporting sustainability campaigns within the UK higher education sector.
19 April 2022
Dr Liz Kalaugher details progress on SGR’s latest investigation into the financial links between professional bodies and the fossil fuel and arms industries.
14 April 2022
Andrew Simms, SGR, looks at whether scientists can be activists too, and finds that far from being anything new, many of history’s household-name scientists have for generations been getting involved in the moral campaigns of their day.
8 April 2022
The British government wants the nation to be a 'science superpower' – but, asks Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, is this just a smokescreen to hide the expansion of military and economic priorities within the science and technology sectors?
5 April 2022
In light of UK energy policy failings, Andrew Simms and Freddie Daley, Rapid Transition Alliance, look at where, even before the rapid shift in EU energy policy triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, huge leaps were being made in other countries to transition away from dependence on polluting gas.
18 March 2022
Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, examines the evidence of whether climate change causes war or vice versa - and looks at some of the implications.
17 March 2022
Even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UK's home energy bills were shooting up, catapulting millions more into fuel poverty. But there are solutions which tackle this poverty, reduce carbon emissions, and in the longer-term insulate us from some conflicts, argues Dr Philip Webber, SGR.
15 March 2022
As the threat of a nuclear war grows, Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, outlines the catastrophic climatic consequences should nuclear weapons ever be used - based on the latest academic research.
10 March 2022
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the risk of nuclear war has markedly increased. But, as Dr Philip Webber, SGR, points out, the threat comes from all nuclear weapons, not just those in Russian hands.
3 March 2022
In light of the agreements at COP26, Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, looks at the controversial role of the military in climate issues, including the latest data on military carbon emissions, and how demilitarisation programmes offer more potential for reductions than low carbon weapons systems.
29 January 2022
Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, assesses the UK’s crash industrial programme to scale up production of medical ventilators during the pandemic – and what lessons can be learned for conversion away from fossil fuels & arms.
10 December 2021
SGR today launches its new online resource – ‘Globally Responsible Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics’ (GRC-STEM) – to help the growing number of job-seekers looking for ethical employment.
22 November 2021
Andrew Simms, Phil Webber, Stuart Parkinson, and Jan Maskell give their initial thoughts on the outputs of the COP26 climate negotiations - and examine some options for future action.
17 November 2021
How should climate scientists get involved in campaigning activities? Dr Liz Kalaugher, SGR, Dr Alison Green, Scientists Warning, and Dr Aaron Thierry, Scientists for Extinction Rebellion, discuss the issues and options.
8 November 2021
The UK government refuses to support a treaty to regulate lethal autonomous weapons systems, preferring instead to expand military R&D, including at universities. But, argues Leyla Manthorpe Rizatepe, these same universities could become a further focus of protest.
26 October 2021
Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, presents the latest data on which personal actions are most likely to reduce your carbon emissions to a level compatible with the international 1.5C temperature target.
19 October 2021
In light of The Trick, a new BBC drama about the “ClimateGate” hack of one scientist’s emails in 2009, Dr Liz Kalaugher, SGR, looks at how climate scientists today are banding together to speak out about their evidence and how urgently we need to act.
18 October 2021
Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, examines the carbon footprint of spaceflight - especially space tourism, military missions, and the planned return of humans to the Moon. He argues that the damage is large enough to justify a moratorium on all non-essential spaceflight.
8 October 2021
As we head towards the COP26 negotiations, Prof Bill McGuire, University College London, warns about the dangers of relying on geoengineering to dig us out of the climate crisis.
1 October 2021
As Boris Johnson, at the UN, calls on other countries to take more action on the climate, Dr Ian Campbell examines what the science is really saying about the scale of carbon emissions reduction needed by the UK to comply with the Paris Agreement.
24 September 2021
Dr Phil Johnstone and Prof Andy Stirling, University of Sussex, examine the entanglements between Britain's civilian and military nuclear programmes and ask, would the UK be building new nuclear power stations if it weren't for pressure from the military lobby?
20 September 2021
Dr Philip Webber, SGR, compares funding for nuclear weapons with funding for tackling climate change, using the UK as an example.
9 September 2021
SGR's objections to the proposals for a huge new deep coal mine in West Cumbria, UK. This includes evidence that, for each job created, the resulting additional climate change impacts will lead to more than 100 extra deaths worldwide.
8 September 2021
As the world recovers from the pandemic, Dr Lucy Gilliam, Transport and Environment, looks at the steps that need to be taken to prevent the aviation sector returning to pre-COVID pollution levels.
6 September 2021
Prof Nick Robins, London School of Economics, looks at the dynamics of a just transition away from fossil fuels.
31 August 2021
Prof David Webb, Leeds Beckett University, examines the links between the UK’s military and civilian space sectors.
20 August 2021
As the stark findings of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change make global headlines, Prof Julia Steinberger, University of Lausanne, explores how to live well within environmental limits, and asks why questioning overconsumption is so problematic.
11 August 2021
Publications
Special 30th anniversary edition! Features cover: new era of activist science; growing nuclear weapons threat; mirage of zero emissions flying; energy conservation for peace; fair consumption space; UK military R&D; and much more!
The journal comes with membership of SGR and keeps you up-to-date with our activities.
April 2022
This short technical paper analyses official data sets on UK military carbon emissions. It finds major discrepancies, and that headline figures considerably understate core emissions – by 36% to 71%.
January 2022
Projects
To read the full text of 'A science oath for the climate', see the list of signatories, and/or to add your own name, please read on....
Extra background on the Science oath for the climate, including further reading and FAQs.