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Announcement
Joint announcement
Kate Symons - 17/10/24
We are pleased to announce the successful awardees of the inaugural Scotland Beyond Net Zero (SBNZ) seed fund. The fund was established to foster collaborations and partnerships between universities and external organisations to drive innovative research and solutions that contribute to Scotland’s journey towards achieving net zero. The response to the seed fund call was incredibly strong, with numerous high-quality proposals submitted.
We are excited to share that the following projects and partnerships have been selected for funding:
Clean Energy from Plastic Waste
Non-recyclable plastic waste is either put into land fill or burned. This causes contamination of the land, water and air without any benefits. Our project will show how to convert non-recyclable plastic waste into hydrogen gas. This chemical process offers dual benefits: reducing plastic pollution plus providing a renewable and clean energy source of hydrogen which can be immediately used for various applications. Hydrogen is a very versatile and efficient way of carrying clean energy that can later be used in various ways, from transportation to electricity generation. By harnessing the energy embedded in plastic waste and transforming it into the hydrogen gas for clean energy applications, this project not only promotes waste reduction but also supports Scotland’s net zero ambition, therefore contributing to develop a circular energy economy.
Electric Wallpaper for Clean Heating: A Pilot Study
The UK’s homes are among the oldest in the world and the worst insulated in Europe, which contributes to their high carbon footprint. The average UK home loses heat three times faster than, e.g., a German property, leading to poorer comfort and increased carbon emissions. In the UK, heating accounts for about 37% of the total carbon emissions, with three quarters of that coming from homes, particularly gas heating systems. However, the Scottish New Build Heat Standard (NBHS) requires new buildings to use climate-friendly heating systems from April 2024. Electric Wallpaper (EWP) is gaining significant attention as an innovative replacement to gas central heating. The West of Scotland Housing Association (WSHA) are piloting the use of NexGen EWP technology in 12 tenemental properties to test the effectiveness of this innovative new clean heating product. This project therefore aims to conduct a pilot study to evaluate the performance of EWP technology in pre 1919 tenements in Glasgow using cutting edge monitoring technology empowered by the Internet-of-Things and AI-enabled data analytics. Data will be collected via a smart sensor system from 12 tenemental properties, owned by WSHA, that already have EWP installed and advanced analytics and forecasting will be applied to generate insights on heating levels, heat retention, and energy consumption taking into account tenants’ comfort level and feedback.
Just transition through the lived experiences of women in Tayside deprived communities
Scotland is committed to reach Net Zero emissions by 2045. To do so in a just manner, Scotland’s transition to a green economy needs to ensure that no one and no community is left behind. The work of scholars and policymakers who have been discussing what qualifies as Just Transition has been criticised for lacking practical application. Our project will pilot a new approach that will help local communities monitor the fairness of Transitions in the Built Environment. The pilot will focus on women in Deprived Communities in Tayside and their right to housing and a healthy environment. We will run two workshops with these communities, Dundee City Council, the Dundee International Women’s Centre and Wester Ross UNESCO Biosphere. The Project will provide the crucial elements to build a robust, inclusive, participatory community-based monitoring mechanism, and support women in the deprived communities to engage in the establishment of the mechanism.
Rural District Heating Symposium
This research will run a conference on decarbonising homes and tackling fuel poverty in rural and off gas-grid communities. The focus will be on developing district heating systems (DHS) and the barriers and opportunities for this posed by Scottish Government legislation (the Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies, the Heat in Buildings Bill, etc). It will also tie in directly with local retrofit and DHS projects being developed and delivered by a consortium led by the Southern Uplands Partnership. Common Weal (CW), which has lobbied and published extensively on these issues has agreed to be the lead non-university partner, and to publish a new policy paper summarising the outcomes of the conference and ensure that the event is covered in the Scottish media. This research will involve significant stakeholder engagement, including local authorities, housing associations, the Scottish Rural Parliament, the Danish Government, and industry. The outputs will be a better understanding of the challenges for rural communities in developing district heating systems.
Using Green Bonds for Scotland’s Sustainable Future: A Financial Strategy for Achieving Net Zero
This research will develop a framework for using green bonds to help pay for Scotland’s transition to a net zero economy. Green bonds are a type of financial product that enable companies to invest in climate and environmental projects. This research will explore the impact of green bond financing on renewable energy, sustainable transport, and energy-efficient buildings. The framework will help identify and support projects that can best attract green bond funding, aiding Scotland’s transition to a net zero economy. Specifically, we will examine the effectiveness of green bond issuances by firms and local government entities, thereby exploring frameworks suitable for Scotland’s context. We will also examine the potential role of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) models in predicting bond performance and environmental impact, examining what this could mean for Scotland. By taking international learning in finance, environmental science, and social science and adapting this knowledge to Scotland’s unique environmental and economic contexts, we aim to create a robust and applicable framework to increase the use of green bonds here. Our project will help establish Scotland as a leader in sustainable finance.
Beyond Net Zero: A Framework for Natural Capital Markets in the Marine Environment
Scotland’s marine environment is vital for climate regulation and carbon storage. It supports rich biodiversity with cultural, social, economic, and scientific benefits to coastal communities and Scotland as a whole. Natural capital markets are rapidly emerging, promising to leverage private finance to sustain and enhance these benefits, by supporting much-needed restoration and conservation efforts. However, we need greater knowledge on what natural capital markets mean for the marine environment to avoid some mistakes made in land-based natural capital markets, such as irreversible environmental damage, loss of market trust, and other unintended consequences for social and environmental justice. Our research will develop an interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder partnership to form a Scotland-wide Marine Natural Capital Markets working group, embedded within the marine science community through MASTS to ensure durable, long-term collaboration. This partnership between environmental economists, marine scientists and conservationists will develop a framework for how private investment into the restoration and conservation of the marine environment can truly deliver ecologically and socio-economically beneficial outcomes. We will address a crucial gap by applying lessons from land-based natural capital markets; while understanding the differences between land and sea (e.g. ownership, rights), we will adapt successful strategies to tackle similar issues in the marine environment. This foundational work will pave the way for future research tailored to marine ecosystems, accelerating the transition to a sustainable, nature-rich, net zero marine environment.
Developing a Beyond Net Zero Performance Framework for Circular Economy Practice in Scotland; lessons from the Netherlands
Circular economy is a way of organising the economy and production to eliminate waste, increase the use of clean energy and remove the use of virgin resources. Scotland is leading the UK in the transition to a circular economy; however the UK’s exit from the European Community has attenuated the pace of development. This is evident in European Union collaborative projects and legislative development to underpin resource use targets and carbon capture for example. The Netherlands is a leading country in CE policy and practice and its stakeholder engagement process has led to an agreed measurement and monitoring system that underpins their target of a 50% reduction in new resources usage by 2030 and a 100% reduction in new materials usage by 2050. This project will compare Scotland to the Netherlands to understand how better to implement, grow and monitor Scotland’s circular economy.
The UK Co-Benefits Atlas: Open, Interactive, and Visual Presentation of Co-Benefits Analysis for Achieving Net Zero across communities, business, and governments
Current research shows that for every £1 spent on climate change mitigation in the UK there are as much as £14 of social benefits in the form of improved public health, better urban connectivity, and increased productivity. This project will show how to communicate this information to inform and accelerate climate action by creating an interactive web-based data interface—the UK Co-Benefits Atlas (UKCBA). UKCBA will make information and assessment of co-benefits more accessible, understandable, and useful for businesses, investors, researchers, third sector organisations and policymakers across Scotland and the wider UK. Working with businesses and community groups, we will use state of the art modelling to create a visualisation atlas that provides interactive visualisations, in-depth analyses, and contextual explanations to explore data in a structured and accessible way. The result will be a collaboratively created, cutting-edge, and first-of-its-kind platform capable of facilitating interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaborations and decision making between diverse stakeholders around the complex socio-economic benefits of climate interventions.
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