Climate Change - 50 years of research and innovation

50 years of research and innovation

For more than 50 years, research and innovation has helped us understand, tackle and mitigate the effects of climate change, and embed evidence in decision making and climate policy.

Here we look at some of UK Research and Innovation and its councils’ most important contributions to tackling climate change. From early research that proved that global temperatures were rising, and investment in wind energy, to using supercomputers for climate modelling, our research and investment over the years, is at the centre of a whole raft of breakthroughs.

For more stories, profile pieces of key players in the climate change field and further information, please visit our 'Responding to Climate Change' pages.

1933 – Scientists begin monitoring sea levels

Two scientists found a global network for monitoring sea level changes

In 1933, Finnish oceanographer and politician, Professor Rolf Witting, attended a meeting of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics in Lisbon. Whilst there, he argued passionately for the need to create an international committee to monitor global sea levels.

The other delegates agreed, and the Mean Sea Level Committee was born. Professor Joseph Proudman of the UK's Tidal Institute, who was named secretary of the committee, set about compiling monthly and yearly data from as many tide gauges as possible throughout the world.

Today, the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level, hosted at the National Oceanography Centre in Liverpool, which is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), contains over 2,100 mean sea level records from across the globe, the longest of which date back to the start of the 19^th century.

The data tells us that sea levels have risen about 21-24cm since 1880, with about a third of that coming in just the last two-and-a-half decades.

The data is made freely available to scientists, and most studies of 20^th century global sea level rise – including Assessment Reports by theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – are based on data provided by the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level.

1964 – Researchers start mapping wildlife and biodiversity

The Biological Records Centre (BRC) is set up to map the huge variety of flora and fauna in the UK. The centre now has more than 100 million wildlife records and, with partners, has contributed to printed atlases for more than 10,000 species.

Today we know that climate change is having a devastating impact on biodiversity. But how do we know?

Thanks to the BRC, hosted by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the UK has extensive long-term records of species dating back 57 years.

The centre, formed through a merger with four NERC institutes, has been instrumental in guiding UK climate policies.

For instance, from 1965 onwards, researchers used BRC maps showing the distribution of plants and lichens to prove that air pollution and acid rain were harming wildlife. This research led directly to regulations aimed at limiting levels of airborne sulphur.

BRC data from the 1970s onwards also revealed an alarming decline of farmland weeds. Farmland weeds are actually essential wildflowers which sustain the insects that pollinate our food crops. The finding informed the 1994 UK Biodiversity Action Plan, which put in place measures to ensure recovery of these vital wildflowers.

Today, BRC records are used by the UK government to monitor the health of the environment and the effectiveness of controls to curb the spread of invasive species.

1967 – Opening of the Chilbolton Observatory

Since opening on 14 April 1967, the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Chilbolton Observatory has utilised state-of-the-art instrumentation to make observations of weather and space.

The observatory, which is run by STFC’s RAL Space, is renowned for its capabilities in atmospheric and weather measurements, thus supporting research to improve numerical models used to analyse and forecast storms and flooding.

ABOVE: Shariatpur, Bangladesh: Billal Hossain breaks his house and collects the last brick to shift to another place to settle. His house is being washed away thanks to rising sea levels Picture: Moniruzzaman Sazal / Climate Visuals Countdown

ABOVE: The Biological Records Centre, which has extensive long-term records of species dating back 57 years, has been instrumental in guiding UK climate policies. Most records are collected by volunteer recording schemes and societies, which are integral to the work of BRC. Picture: Tristan Bantock

ABOVE: The ozone hole above the Antarctic was discovered in 1985 by British Antarctic Survey Scientists. Here, from left, Dr Joe Farman, Brian Gardiner and Jon Shanklin are photographed with a Dobson ozone spectrophotometer, used to determine stratospheric ozone concentrations. Picture: Chris Gilbert, British Antarctic Survey

1985 – The ozone hole is discovered

Scientists discover a hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica

In 1985, three scientists from NERC's British Antarctic Survey (BAS) reported that they had detected abnormally low levels of ozone over the South Pole. The ozone layer in the Earth’s atmosphere filters out most of the sun's harmful UV radiation and is therefore crucial to life on Earth.

The scientists suggested that compounds called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), often used in aerosol cans and fridges, could be responsible. Their findings led to the Montreal Protocol in 1987, which resulted in the reduction and then total ban of CFCs. The protocol is one of the most successful global environmental policies of the 20^th century, and helped raise public awareness of climate change.

Today the Antarctic ozone hole is slowly healing.

1988 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) heralds a new era of climate research

The IPCC provides policymakers with regular scientific assessments on the current state of knowledge about climate change

Established by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization, the IPCC is the United Nations body responsible for assessing the science related to climate change.

So far, the IPCC has published five Assessment Reports written by the world’s most renowned experts on climate change. These are the most comprehensive scientific reports produced about climate change worldwide.

NERC scientists have authored and reviewed chapters in every single IPCC report to date, offering expertise in areas such as climate history; loss of ice from ice sheets and glaciers; ocean circulation and ocean warming; climate modelling; and sea-level rise.

In the physical science section of the latest, Six Assessment Report, which delivered scientists’ starkest warning yet about the deepening climate emergency, 87% of the UK authors were NERC-funded.

The remaining sections of the Six Assessment Report are due in 2022.

1995 – A leap forward in battery technology

Professor Peter Bruce develops a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that revolutionises the electronics industry

In 1995, Professor Peter Bruce, now Wolfson Professor of Materials at the University of Oxford, was working at the University of St Andrews in Scotland when he developed a new kind of battery.

The battery was lighter, more reliable, more efficient and greener than the Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) batteries used extensively at the time.

Over the years, and with support from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), he has continued to make important advances in the science underpinning lithium-ion batteries, enhancing their ability to store and retain charge.

An electrode material developed by Professor Bruce was used in the first generation of modern electric vehicle batteries, as seen in cars such as the Nissan Leaf and Vauxhall Ampera.

He continues to lead cutting-edge research into new battery technologies, such as lithium-air batteries that could one day power electric and hybrid vehicles.

The battery technologies developed by Professor Bruce and his colleagues will play a significant role in improving air quality, lowering greenhouse-gas emissions, and helping us move to a fossil-fuel-free world.

1995 – A step towards hydrogen-powered cars

Researchers develop the UK’s first hybrid battery/fuel cell for a car

In the mid 1990s, with support from EPSRC, Dr Paul Adcock and Dr Phil Mitchell, from Loughborough University, devised a new, sustainable power source that could slot into the same space as an existing car engine.

The hydrogen fuel cell provided power for cruising speeds, while a set of batteries gave an added boost of acceleration.

The researchers formed the spin-out company Advanced Power Sources Ltd to commercialise the technology, which was later renamed Intelligent Energy.

In 2012 a fleet of 100 zero-carbon London taxis containing fuel systems developed by Intelligent Energy were showcased at the London Olympics. The taxis’ hybrid hydrogen fuel cell system enabled the vehicles to operate for a full day without refuelling.

Further successes include the world’s first purpose-built fuel cell motorbike, and the first flight of a hydrogen-electric fuel cell-powered aircraft, developed by ZeroAvia.

1996 – Storing CO₂ underground

The world’s first commercial carbon storage project begins operation at the Sleipner gas field in the North Sea

Carbon capture and storage technology takes greenhouse gases produced by industrial plants, power stations and other sources and either reuses them or stores them underground. This stops CO₂ from being released into the atmosphere, preventing further global warming.

It’s now accepted that carbon capture is essential if we are to get to zero emissions by 2050. However, at one time the technology was seen as potentially risky. Governments and the public needed convincing that the technology was safe and feasible.

Since 1996, scientists at the NERC-funded British Geological Survey have monitored the Sleipner carbon storage site. Using advanced 3D imaging studies, BGS can track the precise location of CO₂ before and after injection. Their work proved that all of the captured CO₂ was securely confined within the storage reservoir.

Among other outcomes, this demonstrated the safety and feasibility of CO₂ storage, changing the way it was seen by scientists, policymakers and the public.

ABOVE: Sunderland-based Hyperdrive Innovation develops and manufactures market-leading lithium-ion battery technology to power green transport and provide innovative energy storage. Innovate UK has been part of Hyperdrive’s journey from the start. Picture: Hyperdrive

ABOVE: September 2020 saw the maiden flight of the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell-powered commercial aircraft. The Piper M-class six-seat plane was powered by a fuel cell developed by Loughborough University spin-out company Intelligent Energy.

ABOVE: Since 1996 the Sleipner field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea has been capturing about one million tonnes of CO2 each year and storing it in a saline formation 1 km below the seabed. Picture: Øyvind Hagen/©Equinor

ABOVE: Ice cores provide key information about what the Earth’s climate was like in the past. The deeper you dig the further back in time you go. This slice shows the bubbles of trapped air thousands of years ago. This provides key information about what the Earth's climate was like in the past. Picture: Pete Bucktrout, British Antarctic Survey

ABOVE: An international research project co-funded by EPSRC and AHRC led to the development of a new way to protect limestone buildings and statues from the effects of atmospheric pollution. The team successfully applied their technique to York Minster cathedral.Picture: Public domain pictures

ABOVE: From its first wind farm in 1991, the UK has embraced wind energy and is now a driving force in research and development. The Levenmouth Demonstration Turbine (pictured) is the world’s most advanced, open-access offshore wind turbine dedicated to R&D. It is operated by the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, one of a network of Catapults set up by Innovate UK in high growth industries. Picture: ORE Catapult

2004 – Ice core reveals mysteries of Earth’s climate

Record-breaking ice core extracted from Antarctica shows that CO₂ levels are 50% higher than before the industrial revolution

In 2004, scientists at the British Antarctic Survey were part of a team that extracted a three-kilometre ice core from the Antarctic. The core contained a record of the Earth’s climate stretching back 800,000 years – giving us by far the oldest continuous climate record yet obtained from ice cores.

Ice cores provide key information about what the Earth’s climate was like in the past.

Bubbles sealed in the ice provide a unique snapshot of the atmosphere at the time. Scientists can also work out what surface temperatures were like in the past by analysing the ratio of ‘heavy’ atoms of oxygen and hydrogen.

The ice core extracted by BAS shows us that the concentration of CO₂ was stable over the last millennium until the early 19th century. It then started to rise, and its concentration is now nearly 50% higher than it was before the industrial revolution.

2006 – Protecting our cultural heritage against climate change

In 2006, a report by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee recommended that 'the heritage sector should come together in developing a broad-based national strategy for heritage science'. This led to the formation of Research Councils UK’s Science and Heritage Programme – now called the Heritage Science Forum.

The forum, jointly funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and EPSRC, is aimed at increasing the resilience of our cultural heritage in the face of 21^st century challenges, including climate change.

2007 – Offshore wind energy takes off in the UK

The UK Government announces its plan to allow offshore wind energy development around the UK

The government’s vision for offshore wind energy has been swiftly realised thanks to decades of investment in cutting-edge research and innovation, world-class infrastructure and long-term monitoring and surveying, much of it funded by EPSRC and Innovate UK.

Today, the UK is the world leader in offshore wind energy, which produces 13% of the UK’s electricity, a 16-fold increase since 2010. It also powers over 7.5 million UK homes, and the government wants this to increase to every home in the country by 2030.

Significant UKRI investments include the cross-council RCUK SUPERGEN Wind Programme, formed in 2001 and led by EPSRC, which developed important academic, industrial and policy linkages. This programme was one of the forerunners to the Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy Hub, which is pioneering new technologies such as floating renewable energy farms.

The UK's investment in state-of-the-art testing facilities since 2003 has also allowed companies to trial and test offshore wind rotor blades at Blythe in Northumberland. This site, now run by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult – one of a network of Catapults set up by Innovate UK – allows companies to see how turbine blades work in real-world conditions.

This allows engineers to make improvements and identify problems early on, helping to reduce risk and drive down the cost of offshore renewable energy.

The ORE Catapult also hosts the Levenmouth Demonstration Turbine, the world’s most advanced, open-access offshore wind turbine dedicated to R&D.

The towering 7MW turbine has been used as a test facility by companies, start-ups and universities for everything from supplying sub-sea electrical cables to wind farms to developing new software to control the turbines.

Meanwhile, NERC’s long-term monitoring of seabed geology, seabirds, and seals has enabled governments to identify the most appropriate sites for offshore wind farm development.

2007 – A new method for calculating carbon footprints

PAS 2050 – the world’s first carbon footprint standard – is launched. The standard allows businesses to calculate the carbon emissions of their goods and services

Understanding what drives carbon emissions is essential to tackling climate change. In 2007, researchers at the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Research Group on Lifestyles, Values and the Environment, worked with the Carbon Trust, the UK environment ministry, Defra and the British Standards Institution to develop a product standard for carbon footprinting known as PAS 2050.

PAS 2050 was the first standard to include greenhouse gas emissions generated by products across their whole life cycle – from design through to raw material extraction, manufacturing, transport and finally product disposal.

Since 2007, businesses of all shapes and sizes have used PAS 2050 to take steps to reduce the carbon footprint of their goods and services, saving countless tonnes of emissions.

2008 – The Committee on Climate Change is formed

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) was set up to identify climate change targets and advise the UK government. It was formed following recommendations underpinned by ESRC-funded research

The CCC introduced legally binding targets to reduce UK carbon emissions. Its first recommendation, that UK carbon emissions should be cut by 80% by 2050, was enshrined into legislation in 2008.

As a consequence of the CCC, the government increased the funds available for developing renewable and low-carbon energy, as well as green technologies such as electric vehicles.

In 2008, Innovate UK launched the Low Impact Buildings Innovation Platform for the built environment. It was formed to encourage and support the construction industry in achieving the transformation in energy efficiency necessary to support the Government commitment of 80% reduction in UK carbon emissions by 2050.

2009 – New collaboration to explore environmental health problems

The MRC Centre for Environment and Health was formed in June 2009 to explore the links between environmental exposures which impact the health of the population

The centre brings together the best researchers from all areas of public health to collaborate on research into the environment and health. Its work informs health policy and the understanding of key issues affecting our society.

Among its areas of focus, the centre conducts research into the health effects of ubiquitous environmental hazards such as air pollution and noise pollution.

ABOVE: In 2007, PAS 2050, the world’s first carbon footprint standard is launched. The standard allows businesses to calculate the carbon emissions of their goods and services. Co-devised by ESRC researchers, PAS 2050 was the first standard to include greenhouse gas emissions generated by products across their whole life cycle – from design through to raw material extraction, manufacturing, transport and finally product disposal.

ABOVE: These eco-lodges are among a host of buildings developed through Innovate UK’s ModCell initiative, part of the Low Impact Buildings Innovation Platform. ModCell buildings use a carbon negative construction system based on straw bales – making them ‘super-insulated’. Since 2008, the Low Impact Building Innovation Platform has funded and supported over 800 UK organisations, yielding an estimated economic impact of £1.5 billion via 20 major programmes.

ABOVE: The JASMIN supercomputer provides environmental scientists with access to very large sets of environmental data, which are typically too big for them to download to their own computers. It can reduce the time it takes to test new ideas and get results from months to hours. Picture: JASMIN

ABOVE: Sentinel 3. Technology deployed on the Sentinel series of satellites can measure sea and land temperatures with unprecedented accuracy. STFC engineers at RAL Space played a key role in developing the technology. Picture: STFC

2012 – The JASMIN supercomputer goes online

JASMIN is a giant supercomputer which also acts as a data store

These days, a typical global climate model takes hundreds of scientists years to build, contains enough computer code to fill 18,000 pages of printed text, and can require a supercomputer the size of a tennis court to run.

Luckily researchers in the UK and Europe have access to JASMIN, a giant supercomputer and data storage facility which is operated by the Science & Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) RAL Space Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA) on behalf of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

JASMIN gives environmental scientists access to very large sets of environmental data, such as those collected by Earth monitoring satellites. These datasets are typically too big for researchers to download to their own computers.

The giant supercomputer can store up to 44 Petabytes of environmental data, equivalent to over 10 billion photographs. It can also reduce the time it takes to test new ideas and get results from months to hours.

JASMIN’s combination of computing power, massive storage and a very fast internal network means that scientists can now analyse data at scales that simply weren’t possible before.

So far, JASMIN has been used to:
·       improve predictions of earthquakes
·       monitor trends in UK wildlife biodiversity
·       improve volcano monitoring
·       develop the next generation of climate models
·       improve our understanding of extreme weather

One year after the launch of JASMIN, ARCHER, the UK’s national supercomputing service was launched. Based at the University of Edinburgh, and managed through EPSRC’s the long-standing investment in supercomputing, ARCHER provided researchers with crucial support on a host of projects, from predicting jet aircraft noise and weather modelling to drug discovery and recreating dinosaur footprints.

Based around a Cray XC30 supercomputer, ARCHER’s partners included EPSRC, NERC, EPCC, Cray Inc and The University of Edinburgh. It was recently superseded by ARCHER2.

2014 – The first Sentinel satellite is launched

The Sentinels are a fleet of satellites that form part of the European Commission’s Copernicus programme. Together they are providing us with an unprecedented picture of how Earth’s climate is changing

Today, hundreds of miles above the Earth’s surface, the Sentinel satellites are busy collecting data on our planet’s climate system. These provide accurate measurements of the temperature of our oceans, land and atmosphere.

The instrument responsible for these measurements is the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR), developed by scientists at STFC's RAL Space.

There are currently two SLSTR instruments in orbit, and together they can cover almost all the globe in a day.

RAL Space scientists are also currently preparing and testing two new SLSTR instruments which will be launched shortly.

These will be the most accurate thermometers RAL Space has ever launched into space. They can measure sea surface temperatures to an accuracy of 0.2°C from 800km away – the equivalent of standing on top of the London Eye and looking at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

With the upcoming launches, researchers now have about 40 years of sea surface temperature data at their fingertips. This is vital for understanding long term trends and global warming.

2015 – A new type of biofuel is invented

A scientist develops a new type of biofuel that can be used in normal vehicle engines instead of petrol

In 2011, Dr John Love, a Professor of Synthetic Biology at the University of Exeter, received funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to spend a year working with oil and gas company Shell.

At that time, most biofuels were made from either fermented biomass or cellulose – one of the components of plant cell walls. These biofuels are structurally very different from petrol and diesel, and so are incompatible with modern car engines unless mixed with fossil fuels. Even then, over time these biofuels will corrode car engines.

Dr Love had an idea – why not get bacteria to make a biofuel that more closely resembles petrol, diesel, or even jet fuel?

Dr Love and his team took genes from the camphor tree, soil bacteria and blue-green algae and inserted them into the bacterium E. coli. The new genes gave the E.coli bacteria the power to convert fatty acids into alkanes, the primary constituent in fossil fuels.

The artificial fuels produced by Love are chemically and structurally identical to fossil fuels, so can be used instead of petrol without any harmful effects.

Trials are now underway to increase yields of the biofuel, improve the energy and cost-efficiency of the production process, and enable industrial exploitation.

2016 – Offshore wind energy milestone

The opening of the £310 million Siemens offshore wind turbine blade factory in 2016 was a milestone for the industry in the UK and built upon years of UK investment in wind energy research including the EPSRC-funded Project Aura Prosperity Partnership and the Centre for Doctoral Training in Wind & Marine Systems and Structures.

The factory is part of a 'green port' built by Siemens and partners at docks that used to export Yorkshire coal.

2018 – Breakthrough in sewage to biogas and fertiliser solutions

In 2018, universities and water companies come together to improve the conversion of sewage and other waste into biogas and fertilisers

The municipal sludge that feeds anaerobic digestion plants operated by Northumbrian Water and other water utilities could prove an even more productive source of sustainable energy than previously believed.

In 2018 it was announced that samples of the foul-smelling mix had been under close examination by scientists from the universities of Teesside and York, drawing on complementary research techniques in a project funded by Research England’s Connecting Capability Fund.

ABOVE: A BBSRC-funded team from the University of Exeter, with support from Shell, has developed a method to make bacteria produce diesel on demand. Trials are now underway to increase yields of the biofuel, improve the energy and cost-efficiency of the production process, and enable industrial exploitation. Picture: Marian Littlejohn

ABOVE: The £310 million Siemens Hull-based offshore wind turbine blade factory, which builds on years of EPSRC investments in research and doctoral training, is putting cutting-edge research into practice. In this picture, Packing Operative Fiona Wright, 25, stands beside the first blade to be manufactured at the factory in 2016.

ABOVE: With funding from Research England, researchers from Teesside and York universities, in partnership with Yorkshire Water, are pioneering a way to increase the efficiency of a process to convert sewage sludge into biogas. This will boost levels of renewable energy production while also generating a higher-quality fertiliser product. This still picture is taken from one of the team’s outreach projects that uses interactive animation to explains their research to children.

ABOVE: The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are melting at an accelerating rate. Their collapse could raise sea levels by 10 metres. Picture: Picture: Danielle Barnes, Unsplash

ABOVE: The EnergyTec Cluster at Harwell campus in Oxfordshire is a rich eco-system tackling today’s energy challenges. Picture: STFC

ABOVE: One of the key requirements for a thriving midge population is soil that holds enough moisture to support the growth of their larvae. Picture: Chris Sanders

2018 – Monitoring glaciers in Antarctica

Global warming could cause Antarctic ice sheets to collapse, leading to a disastrous rise in sea levels

Since 2018, researchers from NERC have been monitoring two Antarctic glaciers – the Thwaites Glacier and Pine Island Glacier.

These are two of the biggest and fastest-retreating glaciers in Antarctica. If both collapsed, global sea levels could rise by over a metre. What’s more, without them the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet could become unstable.

Climate models suggest that if this happened, the entire sheet could collapse like falling dominoes. This would cause sea levels to rise by three metres over a timescale of centuries to millennia.

NERC researchers are looking at what is causing ice loss at these glaciers, and how it will impact global sea levels.

For example, scientists are using aircraft to take radar measurements that will enable them to look deep below the surface of the ice and build a clear picture of how different layers of ice and the bedrock interact. This is crucial in understanding how climate change will affect large ice sheets.

2018 – Launch of the Harwell EnergyTec Cluster

The EnergyTec Cluster at Harwell campus in Oxfordshire is a rich eco-system tackling today’s energy challenges

Since its launch in May 2018, the Harwell EnergyTec Cluster has grown into a vibrant community comprising over 80 organisations employing more than 1,200 people on campus; it also has links to a wider network of over 100 organisations across the UK.

The cluster, supported by key stakeholder engagement from industry, government and academia, and underpinned by UKRI capabilities and sustainability initiatives, brings together innovators, problem-solvers and investors who are leading the way in creating low-carbon technologies and solutions.

Clusters create a fertile environment for the commercialisation of innovative ideas. Co-locating business and research communities with access to a unique suite of major scientific facilities, the EnergyTec cluster provides easy access to collaborators and cutting-edge technologies.

2019 – Midge research leads to further evidence of climate change

In 2019, scientists show the UK midge season has extended due to climate change

Scientists from The Pirbright Institute, Rothamsted Research and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (which all receive BBSRC strategic funding), together with the Met Office, provide the first evidence that the UK midge season has extended over the last 40 years due to climate change.

Bothersome to humans, midges carry deadly livestock diseases such as bluetongue.

Using long-term observations from insect traps at two sites in the UK, which the BBSRC-funded Rothamsted Insect Survey has been running since the 1960s, the team found there had been an increase in rainfall at the survey’s Preston site. Analysis of the clay loam soil suggested that moisture was retained at high enough levels for midges to increase in numbers – both earlier and later in the year. One of the key requirements for a thriving midge population is soil that holds enough moisture to support the growth of their larvae.

This study provides weight to the anecdotal evidence that warmer weather is extending the active period of midges. The findings could help scientists to make better predictions about how the spread of livestock diseases that are transmitted by midges, might alter in response to future climate change.

2019 – Reducing air pollution in Britain’s cities

The world's first 24 hour Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is implemented in central London

Air pollution is estimated to cause 29,000 premature deaths in England every year. People living in the UK's cities are particularly at risk, as they breathe in tiny particles and noxious gases from car exhausts.

Research by Imperial College London's Environmental Research Group (ERG), led by Professor Frank Kelly, Deputy Director of the MRC Centre for Environment and Health, has been instrumental in efforts to reduce air pollution in the UK.

The group's London Air Quality Network monitors air pollution levels continuously at sites across London.

To do this, scientists from the ERG use state-of-the-art air quality monitoring instruments. The equipment can detect a range of harmful air pollutants, including volatile organic chemicals, nitrogen and sulphur oxides, and greenhouse gases like methane and CO₂.

The group’s most recent data on air pollution in London revealed that more than two million Londoners live in areas that exceed legal limits for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), 400,000 of whom are children under the age of 18.

The researchers’ work, funded by NERC and the Medical Research Council, led directly to the introduction of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) in London. This policy, which charges vehicles in central London that do not meet emissions standards, has reduced emissions of nitrogen dioxide in the city by 44%. ULEZ also delivered 6% CO₂ reductions in its first 10 months and is now driving increased uptake of electric vehicles across the capital.

Researchers at the MRC Centre for Environment and Health continue to analyse the health impacts of the ULEZ, particularly to populations most at risk.

2019 – Green fuels for the future

Researchers develop new hybrids of a bioenergy crop which could replace fossil fuels in the future

Bioenergy crops are plants that are grown and then burnt to generate electricity and heat. If used in place of fossil fuels, they could reduce CO₂ emissions and help the UK meet its climate change targets.

One crop that would be an ideal source of energy is Miscanthus, a perennial grass native to South East Asia. Miscanthus grows several metres high each year, requires little nutrients, and can be grown on low-grade land.

Nevertheless until recently, the rate of commercial production of Miscanthus has been relatively slow. One reason is that farmers wishing to plant Miscanthus must cut out sections of the root from another Miscanthus plant, and then cut it into small pieces. Each of these cuttings will then develop into a new Miscanthus plant. This limits how much can be planted annually.

Now, researchers at the Institute of Biological, Environmental & Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth University have developed new hybrids of Miscanthus that can be planted from seed. This will rapidly accelerate the adoption of bioenergy crops in the UK.

Using the old method, one hectare of existing Miscanthus can provide sufficient material for planting 20 hectares of new crop. In contrast, seeded Miscanthus hybrids can enable growers to produce enough material from one hectare to plant 2000 hectares of new crop, thereby allowing planting rates of thousands of hectares per year.

With funding from BBSRC and Innovate UK, the researchers are now working on scaling-up production of the crop, with commercial trials ongoing in six European countries.

2019 – UK first country to pass net zero emissions law

The UK is the first major economy in the world to pass laws to end its contribution to global warming by 2050

In 2019, the UK committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

Net zero is when the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced is the same as the amount removed from the atmosphere.

This means any emissions are balanced by schemes to offset an equivalent amount of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, such as planting trees or using technology like carbon capture and storage.

One of the influences on the UK's commitments to reaching net zero was a report showing that, not only was it possible – it would actually bring economic benefits.

This report was prepared by the Climate Change Committee (CCC), an independent, statutory body which provides independent advice on setting and meeting carbon budgets and preparing for climate change.

It included research and recommendations given by experts at the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC).

Professor Paul Ekins, Deputy Director of UKERC, chaired the Advisory Group on Costs and Benefits to the CCC. This group looked in detail at the opportunities for decarbonisation, and the associated costs, and came to the unequivocal conclusion that the net zero target in 2050 could be achieved with, at worst, small costs, and possibly with significant net economic benefits.

UKERC is supported via the UKRI Energy Programme, funded predominantly by EPSRC, with NERC and ESRC.

2020 – Record setting solar power

In 2020, Oxford PV – a spin-out company from the University of Oxford formed to commercialise EPSRC-funded research by Professor Henry Snaith – set a world record with a solar cell that can convert 29.52% of solar energy into electricity. The solar cells made by Oxford PV are coated with a thin film of the material perovskite to boost conductivity.

With support from EPSRC and Innovate UK, the company has teamed up with scientists at the University of Oxford to produce a solar cell with 37% efficiency within five years. These initial products, designed for residential roofs, will generate 20% more power from the same number of cells than current solar cells on the market.

ABOVE: With funding from BBSRC and Innovate UK, Dr Judith Thornton and colleagues at Aberystwyth University are developing new hybrids of bioenergy crop Miscanthus which could replace fossil fuels in the future. The researchers are also investigating how the crop could be used as a sustainable building material.

ABOVE: Oxford PV is pioneering a new generation of solar cells that could transform the economics of silicon solar technology. Picture: Oxford PV

In summary

Today, the UK is at the forefront of a new, green industrial revolution. Research and innovation continue to underpin the UK’s commitment to:

·       Achieving a net zero economy by 2050
·       Responding to the challenges of climate change
·       Living more sustainably

Across UKRI, we invest in the cutting-edge research and innovation essential to understanding and tackling the environmental sustainability challenges that we face.

With projects ranging from green transportation and agricultural transformation, to investigating our changing planet and future energy systems, researchers and innovators are working hard to support the government’s ambitious target of reaching net zero.

Climate change is global. Its impact is being felt now and will get worse if we cannot limit greenhouse gas emissions.

All eyes will be on the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow which will focus on how to slow the rate at which the planet is warming.

The message is simple: we must repair the damage we have caused to our planet – before it is too late.

To find out what some of our researchers are doing right now to help make this happen, see here and meet more of our researchers in our YouTube playlist.

This, and lots more, is on our 'Responding to Climate Change' pages.