Responsible Science

Science and technology develop with astonishing speed raising constant questions about their responsible practice. Our Responsible Science blog is where we tackle these issues as they arise. Please get in touch if there is something happening on our agenda that you think we should know about or would like to suggest an article.

Electric car image by Mike's Photography via Pixabay

Vehicle emissions: electric cars are not enough

Alasdair Beal argues for broader and stronger action in the transport sector to tackle climate change and air pollution.

22 November 2023

Elsevier is still enabling high-carbon emitters

Academic publisher’s response to SGR/UCS petition on climate pledges falls short.

19 September 2023

Jetting off to the sun? The adverts are selling you a ticket to climate disaster

Airlines have missed 98% of their previous environmental targets yet they keep urging more people to fly. Andrew Simms, SGR, discusses the industry's contradictions and how these can can be tackled.

16 August 2023

UK government carbon targets for military bases are very weak

In a new report, Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, argues that the government target for reducing overall carbon emissions at UK military bases is so weak it could be met without any action by the armed forces.

31 May 2023

Eight reasons why UK military spending shouldn’t be increased

The UK government is considering increasing its military budget in the wake of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, outlines eight reasons why this budget should not be increased.

10 March 2023

Nuclear power: the accumulating problems

With the present British government intent on a fleet of new nuclear power stations, Dr Paul Dorfman, Sussex University, looks at the major obstacles and argues for alternatives.

31 August 2022

A short dictionary of war terminology

Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, looks at how the language used to describe war – including that in Ukraine – can mislead and obscure the situation. He provides a short guide for cutting through the information fog.

26 August 2022

Did COP26 deliver? Thoughts from Scientists for Global Responsibility

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

Scientists stand together with Science Oath for Climate

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

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

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