Issues

We currently focus on four main issues: disarmament and security, climate change and energy, questions of who controls science and technology and issues surrounding new and emerging technologies. You will also see that we work on some other issues too. You can explore these with the menu on the left of this page and with the search function. Material in this section includes all SGR's main outputs since 2005, with a selection of the more important material from before then.

Prof Kevin Anderson, Manchester University, argues that to meet the Paris climate targets we need to put equity at the heart of plans to rapidly reduce carbon emissions.

26 November 2019

Prof Bill McGuire, University College London, argues that mainstream climate science reports downplay the scale of the threats, especially from sea-level rise, extreme heat, shutdown of the Gulf Stream, and increased seismic activity.

19 November 2019

A new poll of scientists reveals a gap between awareness of international climate goals and lifestyles, writes Andrew Simms, SGR, but there are signs of radical shifts.

16 November 2019

Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, looks at how the fossil fuel and arms industries finance professional engineering and science organisations - and the many issues this raises - in this summary of the new report, Irresponsible Science?

6 October 2019

It can seem odd that a refusal to act is a good way to motivate action, writes Andrew Simms, SGR. But striking has been a tool of change for most of recorded history and for good reasons.

17 September 2019

Barnaby Pace explores how international examples of defence diversification programmes show what success could look like in the UK – answering employment concerns and if Britain's nuclear weapons should be cancelled or curtailed.

10 September 2019

Dr Philip Webber, Scientists for Global Responsibility, considers the recent demise of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and recalls the dangerous decade before it was originally agreed.

29 August 2019

As the world marks the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing, Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, argues that human space-flight is highly polluting, very expensive and has contributed to international arms races.

20 July 2019

Dr Jan Maskell, SGR, examines the potential of behaviour change to help to reduce plastic waste.

2 July 2019

Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, summarises the latest data on the large but neglected carbon emissions of military activities, and argues that they need to be rapidly reduced.

29 June 2019