How can we shift our demand for energy in the home, perhaps by shaping and flexing our domestic routines to match periods of peak 'clean' energy production?

Does our relationship with technology have to change in order to reduce demand and therefore cut emissions?

This episode continues our focus on the role of demand in delivering net zero - specifically focusing on one key area of energy consumption - in our homes.

Joining Matt and Becky this time are:

Sarah Darby, Associate Professor in the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford, and Phil Steele, Future Technologies Evangelist (what a title!) at Octopus Energy. 

What is the impact of our own behaviours and attitudes, as households and consumers, on carbon emissions? The latest IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report contains, for the first time ever, a chapter specifically focusing on how the choices we each make impact emissions. To discuss this, the team are joined by Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh from the University of Bath, director of the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST), and Oxford Professor Nick Eyre, director of the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS).

The phenomenon of so-called 'Green Lairds' buying up land for carbon offsetting is increasingly a phenomenon that Scotland is having to reckon with. Magnus Davidson from the University of the Highlands and Islands, who is also a board member of Community Land Scotland, joins Matt and Fraser to review a recent panel event held jointly between the University of Edinburgh's Business School and the British Institute for Energy Economics (BIEE).

An unedited recorded of the panel discussion, chaired by Charles Hendry, Honorary Professor and President of BIEE, is adjacent to this episode in the Local Zero feed. Find Local Zero online at www.localzeropod.com.

How to reconcile natural capital, net-zero and just transition priorities? In this unedited recording, an expert panel discuss the trends for large-scale land purchases for carbon offsetting in Scotland. What is driving these trends, and what the future holds?

The discussion was a joint event between the University of Edinburgh's Business School and the British Institute for Energy Economics (BIEE)

Chair: Charles Hendry, Honorary Professor and President of BIEE

Panellists:

Dave Reay, Professor of Carbon Management, University of Edinburgh; Executive Director for Edinburgh Climate Change Institute; Director of Policy at ClimateXChange

Kirsten Jenkins, Lecturer in Energy, Environment and Society, University of Edinburgh

Ailsa Raeburn, Chairperson for Community Land Scotland; Chair of the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust

Stephen Young, Head of Policy at Scottish Land and Estates

https://www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/event/green-lairds

Making homes both more sustainable and more affordable: these are two of the most pressing challenges facing society today. In this episode, the team explore solutions presented by community-led cohousing, and community-owned micro-grid energy. In particular, we look at what exciting possibilities can be unlocked when both systems can be integrated together onto one site. We hear from Andy O’Brien from the Bristol Energy Cooperative, and Monica King from Bridport Cohousing in Dorset.

Follow us on Twitter @LocalZeroPod and email [email protected] to get involved in the discussion.

As the energy crisis bites and price cap rises against a backdrop of climate change, energy advocacy services are becoming crucial to supporting people in need, and local net zero action. In this episode we ask: what is the role of energy advocacy services? What issues are they facing, and how can they support a fair and just net-zero transition for communities?

Matt and Fraser are joined by Frazer Scott, CEO Energy Action Scotland, Dr Danielle Butler from National Energy Action and Energy Advisors, Agnes Berner and Poppy Ives, from Glasgow’s South Seeds.

Follow us on Twitter @LocalZeroPod and email [email protected] to have your say.

Climate action can deliver a huge variety of co-benefits, alongside carbon reduction: improving health from active travel, reducing fuel poverty through better insulation, and creating better jobs and more resilient communities, to name just a few. Matt and Becky are joined by PwC's Dom Boyle, to discuss how keeping it local can accelerate net zero, reduce fossil fuel dependence, and bring huge social benefits across the UK. Find us at www.localzeropod.com

Cutting carbon from future infrastructure projects is a massive and costly long-term challenge. It is also a critical part of the path to net zero. So how can bridges, roads, hospitals, power stations, railway networks, and all the big-ticket items we rely on for the proper functioning of our society and economy be decarbonised? Becky and Matt are joined by:

Alan Hendry, Director of Sustainability at Mott MacDonald

Sarah Thiam, Chief Executive of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry.

Kit England, Green Economy Manager at Glasgow City Council

www.localzeropod.com

Radical changes are needed to our infrastructure if we want to deliver a Just Energy Transition and meet our net-zero goals. But it’s not that simple.

Matt and Becky are joined by Dr Jo Patterson to discuss the stagnant costs of clean heating and making our homes more energy efficient. The incentive is just not there for most homeowners, our finance and policy instruments are outdated and ineffective. What we need now is something innovative incredibly local, as we hear from Rufus Grantham of Bankers Without Boundaries. Find us at www.localzeropod.com

Community-led energy projects offer a way forward as energy bills spiral and carbon emissions need to be cut. However, community energy in the UK is struggling. How can government unleash its potential?

Matt and Becky are joined by experts Kayla Ente, Founder of Brighton & Hove Energy Services Co-operative and Nigel Cornwall, Director at Hydrogen East, Net Zero East and New Anglia Energy. Find us at www.localzeropod.com