OUR WORK
Scotland Beyond Net Zero is a coalition designed to catalyse research collaboration, empower our communities and inform the policymaking and action Scotland needs to reach its ambitious targets.
Scotland Beyond Net Zero’s partner universities, will work to combine our research strengths to build interdisciplinary collaborations around six core themes: Built Environment, Energy, Finance, Food, Natural Systems, and Transport. Read more about each of these themes and meet the related researchers via the quick links below.
From research in modern architecture, urban planning, and civil engineering to the design of energy-efficient buildings and the use of sustainable construction materials, our researchers are considering how the world that we have forged around us holds the potential to accelerate our race to achieving net zero.
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Scotland is a global leader in many areas of renewable energy, especially on and offshore wind, and green hydrogen. From increased understanding of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal power to improving energy efficiency and storage capabilities, research into energy is fundamental to achieving our goal of reaching net zero emissions. We work with other energy initiatives, especially the Scottish Partnership in Energy and Engineering Research & Innovation (SPEERI) to accelerate and coordinate impactful research on energy across Scotland.
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Finance is closely linked to the climate crisis – how can and should global and local financial flows support sustainable technologies, institutions and practices? How to pay for the transition required to mitigate and adapt to climate change? Academic research can highlight the ways that investment practices can align with sustainability objectives. Financial investments could channel efforts towards low-carbon and climate-resilient projects to help accelerate the transition to a net zero carbon economy.
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Almost a third of greenhouse gas emissions are associated with our current food systems. To understand the role food production plays in achieving net zero, we’re bringing together interdisciplinary research that looks at the impact and opportunities across multiple stages of the food supply lifecycle, including issues of justice and fairness in access to sustainable and good food across society.
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Through research into ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural processes, we can unlock the knowledge to develop strategies that harness nature’s potential to sequester carbon, and mitigate and adapt to climate change. Nature-based approaches to climate change can also create opportunities for community benefits and sustainable local development, while also revealing how Scotland’s nature, land and environment is a product of its history.
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With a wave of new developments and advancements in environmental technologies, it’s an exciting and pivotal moment in the transportation sector. Further research aims to understand how cutting-edge technologies can not only mitigate the transport sector’s traditional environmental impacts, but shape the future of how we get around in ways that are fair, accessible and affordable.
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Scotland’s natural systems are being hugely affected by climate change, but potentially also provide ways to create more sustainable socio-natural arrangements. Through research into ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural processes, we can unlock the knowledge to develop strategies that harness nature’s potential to sequester carbon and help communities mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Academic research in reforestation, wetland restoration, and sustainable land management can enhance the capacity of natural systems to absorb and store carbon dioxide. Nature-based approaches to climate change can also create opportunities for community benefits and sustainable local development. Cultural. historic and political approaches to land and nature research also revealing how Scotland’s nature, land and environment is shaped by communities, economies and policies, paving the way for a more sustainable future.
Understanding the intricate relationships within ecosystems can inform sustainable practices that preserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. Academic insights into the functioning of natural systems provide a foundation for developing nature-based solutions, such as carbon offset projects and sustainable forestry practices, which are integral components of strategies aimed at achieving carbon neutrality.
Through an enhanced understanding of natural systems, academic research can continue to contribute to the development of innovative approaches that play a crucial role in realising net-zero goals.
Meet the researchers involved with studies on natural systems and nature’s role in combating the climate crisis:
Senior Research Fellow
roxane.andersen@uhi.ac.uk
Local lead for the University of the highlands and Islands, and UHI Net Zero Hub Coordinator
christine.anderson@uhi.ac.uk
Professor of Food and Environmental Security
liz.baggs@ed.ac.uk
Local SBNZ lead for Edinburgh Napier University, and Head of Research Environment and Services
G.Barkess@napier.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Urban Development
Karen.Bell.2@glasgow.ac.uk
Chancellor’s Fellow in Environmental Humanities
hannah.boast@ed.ac.uk
Interdisciplinary Director for Environment and Biodiversity
d.burslem@abdn.ac.uk
Lecturer in Fire Science
Z.Campbell.Lochrie@ed.ac.uk
Reader in Materials for Green Energy Technologies
JunYoung.Cheong@glasgow.ac.uk
Associate Professor at Gray’s School of Art and RGU Interdisciplinary Research Theme Lead for Energy, Environment and Sustainability; SBNZ local lead for RGU
j.clarke5@rgu.ac.uk
Professor in Strategy and Technology Management
john.crawford@glasgow.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer Biological and Environmental Sciences
j.a.dickie@stir.ac.uk
Lecturer in Environmental Engineering
carlos.domingo-felez@glasgow.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Geography, Sustainability and Environment
Ria.Dunkley@glasgow.ac.uk
Lecturer in Environmental Fluid Mechanics
teaves001@dundee.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Social Work
sandra.engstrom@stir.ac.uk
Research Fellow, Institute of Aquaculture
lynne.falconer1@stir.ac.uk
Chancellor's Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Geosciences
janet.fisher@ed.ac.uk
Lecturer in nature-based solutions and hydrogeological modelling
Alejandro.ollauri@gcu.ac.uk
Professor of Carbon Capture and Storage
Stuart.Haszeldine@ed.ac.uk
Professor of Sustainable Biotechnology
Louise.Horsfall@ed.ac.uk
Local SBNZ lead for the University of the West of Scotland and Professor of Environmental Geochemistry
Senior Lecturer (Undergraduate Medical School)
Camille.Huser@glasgow.ac.uk
Director of the Mary Robinson Centre for Climate Justice
t.jafry@gcu.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biosciences
matt.jones@glasgow.ac.uk
Lecturer in Sustainable Energy
Amarnath.Krishnamoorthy@uws.ac.uk
Principal Investigator Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences
smckim@dundee.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Anthropogenic Geomaterials
john.macdonald.3@glasgow.ac.uk
Professor of Urban and Environmental Studies
Alice.Mah@glasgow.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Ocean Observation
emedina@ed.ac.uk
Professor, Civil Engineering and Environmental Management
Slobodan.Mickovski@gcu.ac.uk
Local SBNZ lead at the University of St Andrews and Assistant Vice-Principal (Dean of Science)
avpdeansci@st-andrews.ac.uk
Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics
dominic.moran@ed.ac.uk
Associate Dean for Economic, Social and Cultural Development and Head of Sociology School of Law and Social Sciences
n.mueller-hirth@rgu.ac.uk
Professor of Geomorphology and Environmental Geography
Larissa.Naylor@glasgow.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Biological and Environmental Sciences
heather.price@stir.ac.uk
Professor of Evolutionary Parasitology
Sarah.reece@ed.ac.uk
Lecturer, School of Health and Life Sciences
kiri.rodgers@uws.ac.uk
Lecturer in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies
eugenia.rodrigues@ed.ac.uk
Professor of Physical Geography
j.s.rowan@dundee.ac.uk
https://www.dundee.ac.uk/people/john-rowan
Business Development Manager, School of GeoSciences
stuart.simmons@ed.ac.uk
RAEng Chair in Emerging Technologies
William.sloan@glasgow.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Theatre, Film & Television Studies
Inge.Sorensen@glasgow.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Systems Thinking
agnessa.spanellis@ed.ac.uk
Lecturer in Environment and Development
sam.staddon@ed.ac.uk
Professor of Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Technology
Mark.Symes@glasgow.ac.uk
Senior Research Partnership Manager, SBNZ
K.Symons@ed.ac.uk
Director of the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN)
george.tarvit@ed.ac.uk
Chair, SBNZ Steering Group, local SBNZ lead for the University of Glasgow, and Professor of Environmental and Climate Science
Jaime.Toney@glasgow.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Education Studies
Professor of Landscape Architecture
c.ward-thompson@ed.ac.uk
Programme Manager, Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage
gillian.white@sccs.org.uk
Local SBNZ lead for the University of Stirling, and Associate Dean for Research, Faculty of Natural Sciences
n.j.willby@stir.ac.uk
Associate Professor of Energy
benjamin.williamson@uhi.ac.uk
Reader in Interdisciplinary Research in Education
Anna.Wilson.2@glasgow.ac.uk
Associate Director for Science and Research
Ben.Wilson@sams.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Systems, Power and Energy
Siming.You@glasgow.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Supply Chain Management and Technology
Abraham.Zhang@glasgow.ac.uk
Read the latest articles about natural systems from our universities.
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