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.

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

The growing military involvement in UK universities - and the alternatives

Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, highlights the rapidly increasing military involvement at UK universities, especially as part of the government's 'Global Britain' agenda.

11 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

UK space ports: supporting the further militarisation of space

Prof David Webb, Leeds Beckett University, examines the links between the UK’s military and civilian space sectors.

20 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

Nuclear weapons are now illegal

On 22nd January 2021, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) became part of international law. As the world marks the anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Dr Philip Webber, SGR, examines the implications of this new UN treaty.

6 August 2021

Issues