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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Finance is closely linked to the climate crisis, both through the decisions the people and institutions make about investment – for example funding fossil fuels – as well as its carbon impact (for example trading or mining). But with these negative associations comes opportunities; the rise of green finance, political advocacy, and carbon pricing or taxes.
Shifting financial practices towards sustainable investments and integrating climate considerations into decision-making processes is crucial for addressing the climate crisis effectively. Our researchers also consider how changing financial decisions, structures, institutions and power relations can help bring about a more just net zero transition in Scotland and beyond.
Research in finance explores new financial mechanisms that incentivise sustainable investments and discourage high-carbon activities. Studies into green finance, sustainable investment strategies, and the integration of environmental, social, and governance criteria into financial decision-making provide critical insights for reshaping the financial landscape.
Academic research in finance aims to create a clear roadmap for how investment practices can align with sustainability objectives. One aim is to redirect capital flows towards low-carbon and climate-resilient projects, to help accelerate the transition to a just and net zero carbon economy. Through engaging with topics like gender and international development aspects of climate finance, our research also considers how and why financial structures are as they are – and how they could be fairer and more sustainable.
Meet the researchers involved with studies on finance and its role in achieving net zero.
Assistant Professor (Lecturer) Finance
B.Adamolekun@napier.ac.uk
Professor of Finance
d.andriosopoulos@strath.ac.uk
SBNZ Academic Theme lead - Finance and Lecturer in Climate Finance and Investment
kansaram@ed.ac.uk
Reader in Science Technology and Innovation Studies
Ronan.bolton@ed.ac.uk
Visiting Lecturer in Climate Finance & Investment
icochran@ed.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Finance
Mahmoud.Elmarzouky@st-andrews.ac.uk
Professor of Financial Economics
christian.ewald@glasgow.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer Accounting and Finance
konstantinos.gavriilidis@stir.ac.uk
Member of SBNZ’s Governing Board and Dean of the School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University
ga.hutchison@napier.ac.uk
SBNZ Theme Lead for Finance and Lecturer in Finance
mci@st-andrews.ac.uk
Professor and Chair of Finance; Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Financial Innovations
Gbenga.Ibikunle@ed.ac.uk
Director of the Mary Robinson Centre for Climate Justice
t.jafry@gcu.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer Economics
Theodore.Koutmeridis@glasgow.ac.uk
Local SBNZ lead for the University of Aberdeen, and Interdisciplinary Director for Data and Artificial Intelligence
georgios.leontidis@abdn.ac.uk
Lecturer in Sociology (Sustainable Development)
zoe.malcolm@ed.ac.uk
Lecturer in Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship
p.oliver@napier.ac.uk
Lecturer in Political Economy
Business Development Manager, School of GeoSciences
stuart.simmons@ed.ac.uk
Lecturer One Health and Environmental Economics
katherine.simpson@glasgow.ac.uk
Lecturer in Public Administration
n.surubaru@napier.ac.uk
Director of the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN)
george.tarvit@ed.ac.uk
Professor of Accounting and Sustainability
Ithomson002@dundee.ac.uk
Lecturer in Economics
Anna.SchulzeTilling@glasgow.ac.uk
Read the latest articles about finance from our universities.
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