Local Zero

Can a smart-meter really change your life? This is the fiftieth full-length episode of Local Zero - Matt, Becky and Fraser reflect on being half a century old, EVs, and the recent energy cap announcement -- before being joined by guest Jeremy Yapp. Jeremy is Head of Flexible Energy Systems at BEAMA (the UK Trade Association for Manufacturers and Providers of Energy Infrastructure Technologies and Systems). Jeremy outlines how just how crucial Smart Meters can be for household budgeting, and what we need to succeed in a smart energy transition. 

Recorded at EnergyREV's central London summit on smart local energy, the team explore what a smarter, more local energy system might look like, and how it could drive the push to net zero and tackle the energy crisis. Matt and Becky are joined by EnergyREV's Rob Saunders, Teodora Kaneva from Tech UK, UK100's Karen Barrass, and Professor Jeff Hardy, Senior Research Fellow in Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London's Grantham Institute.

Links:

https://www.energyrev.org.uk/

https://www.techuk.org/

https://www.uk100.org/

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/grantham/

Disabled people and their households are among those most likely to be impacted by the energy crisis and associated rise in living costs. Until now, impacts on disabled consumers seem all too often to have been overlooked by both policy makers and media. For this special episode, the team are joined by Gemma Hope, director of policy at Leonard Cheshire, and Lizzie Green, campaigns manager at Sense.

The Local Electricity Bill could - if enacted - open up local supply of electricity to nearby communities. Supporters claim it could bring to market some of the most affordable forms of renewable power, like onshore wind and solar. The bill has support from around 300 MPs, and is currently moving through the Westminster parliament. Fraser, Matt and Becky are joined by Power for People's Steve Shaw, to explore what the proposed change could mean, particularly for energy bills. Steve also has great tips for successful lobbying of MPs and others.

The UK Government has committed to installing 50GW of offshore wind energy by 2030. What are the impacts of offshore wind on communities, and how can we ensure they benefit? Fraser, Becky and (newly minted Professor!) Matt are joined by Grace Millman, Energy Analyst at Regen, and Dr Claire Haggett, Senior Lecturer of Sustainability at the University of Edinburgh. Find us at www.localzeropod.com

As many of us gear up for a summer break, often jetting off to the sun, just how culpable are flight emissions in the context of the climate emergency? Who is most responsible? And is guilt-free flying ever likely to be possible? Joining the LZ team for this chat are Anna Hughes, CEO of Flight Free UK, and Abhilasha Fullonton, a Research Associate at Tyndall Manchester. Find us at www.localzeropod.com.

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