Responsible Science

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.

Getting real: what would serious climate action look like?

Prof Kevin Anderson, Manchester University, summarises the action necessary if governments and societies were really committed to keeping global temperature change close to 1.5°C - and how there would be wider benefits too.

19 March 2023

Small Modular Reactors: the last-chance saloon for the nuclear industry?

Prof Steve Thomas, Greenwich University, critically assesses the current enthusiasm for Small Modular Reactors in the UK and elsewhere. Will they help in the struggle against climate change, or will they sound the death knell for nuclear fission in the power sector?

14 March 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

Back from the brink? Nuclear risks

Presentation by Dr Philip Webber, SGR, summarising the current risks due to nuclear weapons.

3 March 2023

The war in Ukraine: assessing the human and environmental costs

In February, 2022, Vladimir Putin ordered Russian forces to invade Ukraine. Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, assesses the data on the impacts of the war during the course of the year – both on the battlefield and beyond it – and considers what the future might hold.

20 February 2023

SGR Executive Director gives evidence to parliamentary inquiry

SGR's Executive Director, Dr Stuart Parkinson, gave oral evidence on military carbon emissions to the UK House of Commons Defence Committee.

24 January 2023

New estimate suggests global military activities responsible for more emissions than Russia

An innovative new methodology for estimating global and regional military greenhouse gas emissions suggests that the world’s militaries are responsible for 5.5% of global emissions - according to a new report by SGR and CEOBS.

10 November 2022

How war in Ukraine is derailing climate action

Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, assesses how the war in Ukraine is undermining efforts to tackle climate change and poverty - both in the UK and internationally.

29 October 2022

What would a nuclear war look like?

Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, summarises the catastrophic impacts of a nuclear war. This includes the effects of a single weapon and the potential for massive climate disruption.

25 September 2022

SGR launches 1.5°C living targets – sign up to pressure governments to act on climate

Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) has constructed a set of ten evidence-based 1.5°C living targets that together will bring an individual’s lifestyle in line with the Paris climate goal.

20 September 2022

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