The Science and Technology Select Committee have published a report warning that current rates of car ownership will prevent the UK from meeting its target to be Net Zero Carbon by 2050. The report states that government strategies should aim to reduce the total number of vehicles required. Among the suggestions proposed by the committee […]
Post written by Emilie Vrain. Their is growing recognition of the environmental impacts taking a flight can have, and an anti-flying movement in Sweden who go by the name of Flygskam (meaning ‘flying shame’) have stormed media headlines this summer, encouraging people to stop taking flights to lower carbon emissions. Those who make a conscious […]
Post written by Emilie Vrain The UK’s Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) was the first ever unit set up to generate and apply behavioural insights to inform policy and provide societal benefits. Behavioural scientists from BIT recently published a book ‘Social Butterflies: Reclaiming the positive power of social networks‘ drawing upon a wealth of cutting-edge research, popularising […]
Well … almost. The recent G20 ministerial meeting in Japan included the following in their final announcement: “We recognize the importance of quantitative analysis on better understanding future energy demand and the role of innovation driven by digitalization … and the sharing economy”. The SILCI team couldn’t agree more! The G20 added: “We encourage efforts […]
Two SILCI team members, Charlie Wilson and Mark Wilson, recently gave a talk at the Pint of Science festival. The talk, entitled ‘Sustainable solutions – a greener, digital future’, was hosted at a pub in Norwich, giving members of the public an opportunity to learn about low carbon innovations and the SILCI team’s research. Pint of Science is an annual public engagement […]
Norway is an interesting test case for national energy transitions with an almost 100% zero-carbon electricity system (from hydro), the highest uptake of EVs anywhere in the world, and sizeable public resources for supporting energy innovation (largely accrued from fossil fuel rents!). Trondheim is the Norway’s answer to Silicon Valley, hosting a large and well […]
New research published in Nature Climate Change explains why 18 countries, mainly in the EU, have managed to peak and then decline their CO2 emissions from fossil fuels over the past decade. There are three main reasons why: a declining relevance for fossil fuels, a fall in energy demand, and strong national policy frameworks. To […]
Of the start ups showcasing their ideas at the Technoport 2019 conference in Trondheim, the tech capital of Norway, one stood out as offering both a potentially disruptive innovation and potential emission reductions. Invertapro breeds black soldier flies and mealworm beetles for use as protein substitutes in both human and animal food chains. Although they […]
They are according to Simon Thompson, a principle researcher of artificial intelligence at BT Adastral Park. Hazel Pettifor attended The Tommy Flowers Institute Conference on the Future of Transport on 5th March 2019. This annual conference brings together academics, research institutions and industry practitioners with a common interest in innovation, this year it was the turn of the transport sector. A key take home from the conference came […]
Norwich recently became the first city in the UK to join the Sharing City Alliance, which is a global network of cities which enables knowledge-sharing. Together, the cities in the Sharing City Alliance can share experiences of the opportunities and challenges of the sharing economy. The sharing economy challenges the model of private ownership, and promises to contribute to a more sustainable model of consumption through […]