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 […]
Written by Emilie Vrain Trying to captivate non-specialist audiences with research can sometimes been tricky for academics, having to avoid jargon and maintain interest. A competition was developed called the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) to encourage researchers to summarise and clarify the background of their research and present their findings in an intelligent and engaging […]
SILCI researcher Mark Wilson recently attended the SISA 3 (Systems Innovation towards Sustainable Agriculture) workshop, which was held in Riga and organised by the European Society for Rural Sociology. He presented a poster on how consumers can use digital innovations to reduce their food-related greenhouse gas emissions. The SILCI project is exploring end-user innovations which aim to reduce food waste, encourage dietary change, or support local food networks, all of which have the potential to […]
SILCI researcher Hazel Pettifor recently presented the results from a major study to the Global Sustainability Institute (GSI) in Cambridge. In March 2018, the SILCI team ran a series of workshops with over 65 residents of Norwich. These focussed on gaining an understanding of the important attributes of low carbon innovations that appealed to potential consumers. This work is part of a wider program to explore the mechanisms that […]