TT26 Energy Seminar – Week 1: Decarbonising the UK revisited: Lessons from two decades of energy scenario development
Gaurav Gharde, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Manchester
- Start Tuesday 28 Apr 2026 5:00pm
- Finish Tuesday 28 Apr 2026 6:15pm
- Venue Diversity Room - ECI, OUCE
- Postcode OX1 3PY
- Register for event
Summary: The window for effective climate action continues to narrow, and how the UK imagines its energy future matters. The Decarbonising the UK Revisited project examined over 80 energy scenarios developed between 2000 and 2009, comparing the futures explored with what has since materialised. The retrospective analysis found that only one scenario explored energy demand close to realised levels, many envisaged coal with carbon capture and storage at scale, and few explored the scale of renewable growth that has since materialised. This seminar presents these findings alongside those of a subsequent expert workshop, which highlights the case for broader commissioning, methodological diversity, and giving serious attention to demand-side transformation.
Speaker: Gaurav Gharde is an interdisciplinary early-career researcher at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Manchester. His research interests span energy transitions, climate policy, and socio-political justice. He works across engineering and social science perspectives to understand how transitions away from fossil fuels can be shaped by equity and justice considerations, particularly for the communities and economies most affected by these shifts. He draws on four years of professional experience in underground coal mines in India, and his work engages with transition challenges across both the Global South and the Global North.