Accelerating real world emission reductions towards net zero

Why is it important? 

In the UK we’ve cut our emissions by more than 50% since 1990, with government policies helping to remove coal from our electricity supply and increase the supply of renewable power. The next phase of climate action will require a combination of new technologies, greenhouse gas removals and low-carbon choices, with the public playing an increasingly important role.

Yet, despite the wealth of decarbonisation and net zero emission targets put forward by national and subnational actors, policy and actions so far still fall short of what is needed to ensure high level commitments translate into real world emission cuts. 

What are we doing?  

We engage academics, policymakers and other stakeholders to build understanding around the need and opportunities for mitigation action across different sectors, and to ensure they are up-to-date with the latest evidence and research needs on decarbonisation options. 

The electrification of heat is a key focus for our engagement as it will be critical for delivering decarbonisation in the buildings and industry sectors, which together account for about a third of UK emissions. With transport also being a significant source of emissions, we’re helping to ensure that the latest research on the challenges and opportunities for decarbonising this sector is made available to policymakers.

As part of this work, we convene a network of Imperial academics who are active in research related to deployment of electrification of heat. Bringing expertise from across several different disciplines - including engineering, finance and health - the network supports knowledge-sharing, with a focus on addressing policy challenges. If you are an Imperial researcher and would like to join this network, please get in contact.