Responsible Science

Climate change and energy

SGR produces a range of outputs on the issue of 'Climate change and energy'. This covers climate change science, technological and policy responses to climate change, energy supply technologies (especially renewable energy and nuclear power), energy use and energy efficiency (including in transport and buildings), and related policy and lifestyle issues.

The UK's share of the global carbon budget will be used up in just over 3 years

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

Hidden military implications of ‘building back’ with new nuclear in the UK

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

Nuclear weapons, the military & climate overheating

Dr Philip Webber, SGR, compares funding for nuclear weapons with funding for tackling climate change, using the UK as an example.

9 September 2021

Cumbrian coal mine: SGR objection

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

The potential for rapid transition of the aviation industry after COVID-19

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

How a just transition can speed up the race to net-zero

Prof Nick Robins, London School of Economics, looks at the dynamics of a just transition away from fossil fuels.

31 August 2021

Overconsumption, the climate emergency and the scientific community

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

Lessons from the campaign to end big oil sponsorship of culture

Jess Worth, Culture Unstained, reflects on the successes of, and obstacles to, the campaign to end fossil fuel sponsorship of art organisations and museums.

30 July 2021

Institutional gaps between words and action on climate science: Royal Society calls for low-carbon finance but still invests in fossil fuels

With the Royal Society holding a conference on green finance, Andrew Simms, SGR, looks at the gap between the institution's words and actions.

22 July 2021

Space tourism: environmental vandalism for the super-rich

As billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson launch the first flights of their space tourism corporations, Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, takes a look at the climate impacts.

20 July 2021

Issues: Climate change and energy