Past events

The role of localised generation and supply of energy is attracting considerable interest both in the UK and internationally. Local energy systems are a key focus in the UK’s Industrial Strategy and the Prospering from the Energy Revolution programme. They are considered to facilitate faster decarbonisation than large scale systems, while providing welfare and economic benefits alongside industrial renewal.  Localised systems [...]

Workshop #4 | Workshop on assessing risks from radioactive legacy sites and how to better present uncertain information. The objective of the workshop is to discuss the risk assessment process as applied to radioactively contaminated legacy sites and how to better present the assessment findings and associated uncertainties to stakeholders.  The workshop will show how the risk assessment process has been [...]

From where does Oxford University source its electricity? How is it reducing its carbon emissions?What are its building standards? When will it become carbon neutral? What are its transport plans? All these questions and more will be covered by the University’s Head of Environmental Sustainability, Harriet Waters. Speaker Harriet Waters is Head of Environmental Sustainability at the University of Oxford, a position she [...]

The global photovoltaics industry is the biggest it has ever been. In many parts of the world, solar power is already more competitive than fossil fuels. Aggressive forecasts predict the industry will double in the next three years and again the following three years. By 2024, installed capacity could have reached 400 GW. This talk will look at the current [...]

Transport is almost entirely (99.9%) powered by internal combustion engines (ICEs) burning petroleum-derived liquid fuels (95%) and the global demand for transport energy is large and is increasing. The alternatives to ICEs and conventional fuels start from a very low base and face significant environmental and other barriers to fast and unrestrained growth. For instance, there is speculation that transport [...]

Since the late 2000s, science has established that global warming is largely defined by the total amount of carbon dioxide we emit into the atmosphere. This concept not only implies that halting warming to any level implies that global carbon dioxide emissions haveto be reduced to net zero, it also allows to estimate carbon budgets thatwould be compatible with limiting warming to either 1.5°C or 2°C. [...]

The presentation will introduce the development of the new Offshore Renewable Energy Supergen hub and describe the process and results of the engagement and consultation work carried out to design the new programme, together with an update on the status of the new Supergen hub. Speaker Deborah Greaves is Head of the School of Engineering, Professor of Ocean Engineering and Director of [...]

The transition of worldwide energy systems to cleaner sources, and at the same time, providing energy to over 1.3 billion people currently without access to electricity, whilst simultaneously maintaining the quality of supply for those already with access, is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century.  A necessary requirement on solving this challenge is to equip future generations [...]

Transitioning away from our current global energy system is of paramount importance. The speed at which a transition can take place—its timing, or temporal dynamics—is a critical element of consideration. This presentation therefore investigates the issue of time in global and national energy transitions by asking: What does the mainstream academic literature suggest about the time scale of energy transitions? [...]

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) features prominently in scenarios that deliver the 1.5C target agreed in Paris during the 2015 COP. However, it remains a technology dogged by social, political, and scientific controversy. For some, it is a panacea which permits the reversal of the effects on the climate of fossil fuel combustion. For others, it is reckless [...]