Events

National net zero commitments now cover 88% of global emissions, 92% of GDP and 89% of the world’s population (Net Zero Tracker). To support this, net zero guidance and standards now exist for organisations at every level of the economy. Still, an implementation gap exists with respect to net zero regulation and implementation at the national level – and there is limited [...]

Summary: This seminar will outline the main arguments of the new book on “Ending Fossil Fuel Subsidies – the politics of saving the planet”, written by Dr. Neil McCulloch.  The book explains what fossil fuel subsidies are, how they inflict harm and what steps are being taken to reduce them.  It also shows why subsidies persist and why existing efforts [...]

Permanent CO2 storage is an integral part of reaching net zero and meeting the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. The UK has committed to develop CO2 storage in geological reservoirs deep underground, but so far has focussed on doing so offshore. Onshore storage might well prove useful, however, especially for sources of emissions that are dispersed and far from [...]

Summary: This talk will explain Magnetized Target Fusion, how it draws on concepts from both magnetic and inertial confinement fusion and sidesteps the traditional barriers to commercial fusion. A brief overview of past experimental success will be provided along with a description of General Fusion’s future plans on their path to commercialization. General Fusion’s numerous strategic partnerships will also be [...]

Summary: Solving societal problems such as climate change requires commercializing new technologies. Yet, due to incomplete information, there are under-developed markets for finance and insurance for these new technologies. Temporary support to bring the first set of projects to market may be warranted to resolve this credit market failure. Sugandha investigates the impact of the UK’s feed-in tariff (FiT) which [...]

Summary: Fusion has somehow leapt from being a distant concern of horizon-scanning academics and national lab researchers to being a trendy new start-up technology. Fission advocates have a new plan that is factory built and hopefully cheaper than the vast 2-reactor power plant under construction near Bristol. Fusion research and development has seen a culture shift that is both profound [...]

Summary: Onshore wind in the UK is complex. It is a mature technology with a current capacity of close to 15GW. That is enough to power over 9.5 million homes which last year generated 11% of the UK’s electricity needs. With the first commercial wind farm being built in England in 1991 – it means we are in our fourth [...]