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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Energy is perhaps the most obvious research area that springs to mind when considering our goal of achieving net-zero emissions. 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.
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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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Energy plays a pivotal role in our pursuit of reaching net zero emissions. It also has a key role to play in ‘beyond’ net zero, focussing on issues of energy access and justice, and green economic transformation. Shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal power is one of the most clear routes, but research into other areas, including energy storage systems and smart grid technologies, are also integral to achieving our goal. We also focus on issues of demand reduction and energy saving, and the role that a changing energy landscape plays in Scotland’s communities.
Some of the biggest opportunities for change need to come from the top. Governments can implement policies and regulations that encourage the adoption of clean energy technologies, such as tax incentives for renewable energy projects or carbon pricing mechanisms. Because of this, the latest research into energy can form evidence-based recommendations which inform policy decisions.
Our team of researchers share knowledge and ideas across different disciplines, institutions, and industries. Collaborative efforts facilitate the sharing of insights, resources, and expertise, accelerating progress toward common goals.
Academic insights such as these not only drive innovation, but also lay the foundation for a more sustainable, just and resilient energy infrastructure, one which is crucial to achieving net zero emissions on a global scale, and one which meets the needs of all aspects of society for clean energy.
Meet the researchers involved with studies on energy, and its role in combating the climate crisis.
Senior Lecturer in Electrical Power Engineering
ahmed.aboushady@gcu.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering
H.Ahn@ed.ac.uk
Professor and Chair of Operational Research
miguel.f.anjos@ed.ac.uk
Lecturer in Computational Reactive Flows
antonio.attili@ed.ac.uk
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
saskarinejad001@dundee.ac.uk
Lecturer in Energy and Sustainability
obamisile001@dundee.ac.uk
Professor in Environmental Sustainability & Democracy
patrick.bayer@glasgow.ac.uk
Chancellor’s Fellow in Environmental Humanities
hannah.boast@ed.ac.uk
Reader in Science Technology and Innovation Studies
Ronan.bolton@ed.ac.uk
Vice Principal Research and Enterprise
christina.boswell@ed.ac.uk
Professor of Geotechnical Engineering
m.j.z.brown@dundee.ac.uk
Chancellor's Fellow in Net-Zero Buildings
j.broswilliamson@ed.ac.uk
Professor of International Energy Law and Policy
p.d.cameron@dundee.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Architecture, Technology and Environment
k.carter@ed.ac.uk
Reader in Materials for Green Energy Technologies
JunYoung.Cheong@glasgow.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Hydrogen Energy Systems
prodip.das@ed.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Geography, Sustainability and Environment
Ria.Dunkley@glasgow.ac.uk
Lecturer in Power Electronics and Electrical Power Engineering
mohamed.elgenedy@gcu.ac.uk
Rankine Chair of Energy Engineering (Systems Power & Energy)
Gioia.Falcone@glasgow.ac.uk
Professor in Electrical Power Engineering
mohamed.farrag@gcu.ac.uk
Professor in Cyber Physical Systems
David.Flynn@glasgow.ac.uk
Chancellor's Fellow in Net Zero Buildings
dfosasd@ed.ac.uk
Personal Chair of Energy Systems
d.friedrich@ed.ac.uk
Bert Whittington Chair of Electrical Power Engineering
Gareth.Harrison@ed.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Marine Hydrodynamics and Ocean Engineering
mhayatdavoodi@dundee.ac.uk
Professor of Carbon Capture and Storage
Stuart.Haszeldine@ed.ac.uk
Chair in Energy, Environment and Society
dvander@ed.ac.uk
Professor of Sustainable Biotechnology
Louise.Horsfall@ed.ac.uk
Professor of Computational Fluid Dynamics
david.ingram@ed.ac.uk
Director of the Mary Robinson Centre for Climate Justice
t.jafry@gcu.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Energy, Environment and Society
kirsten.jenkins@ed.ac.uk
Elizabeth Georgeson Fellow in Data and Digitalisation for Net Zero
desen.kirli@ed.ac.uk
Chair of Agile Energy Systems
kiprakis@ed.ac.uk
Professor of Civil Engineering
J.A.Knappett@dundee.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer Economics
Theodore.Koutmeridis@glasgow.ac.uk
Interdisciplinary Director for Data and Artificial Intelligence
georgios.leontidis@abdn.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
Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
R.Pillai@ed.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Radio Frequency Technology
s.podilchak@ed.ac.uk
Chair of Molecular Materials
neil.robertson@ed.ac.uk
Lecturer in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies
eugenia.rodrigues@ed.ac.uk
Reader in Emerging Sustainable Technologies
g.santori@ed.ac.uk
Business Development Manager, School of GeoSciences
stuart.simmons@ed.ac.uk
Lecturer in Autonomous Systems & Connectivity
Wenjuan.Song@glasgow.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Systems Thinking
agnessa.spanellis@ed.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer of Geotechnical Engineering
melis.sutman@ed.ac.uk
Director of the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN)
george.tarvit@ed.ac.uk
Professor in Sustainability and the Built Environment
craig.thomson@gcu.ac.uk
Professor of Ocean Engineering
V.Venugopal@ed.ac.uk
Professor of Fluid Mechanics and Bioinspired Engineering
i.m.viola@ed.ac.uk
Professor of Sociology of Organisations
jan.webb@ed.ac.uk
Programme Manager, Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage
gillian.white@sccs.org.uk
Lecturer in Environmental Management
andrew.wilson@gcu.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies
mark.winskel@ed.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Systems, Power and Energy
Siming.You@glasgow.ac.uk
Lecturer in Superconducting and Cryogenic Electric Machines
hongye.zhang@ed.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Urban Studies
Qunshan.Zhao@glasgow.ac.uk
Read the latest articles about energy from our universities.
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