ACCESS - Advancing Capacity for Climate  and Environment Social Science
ACCESS - Advancing Capacity for Climate  and Environment Social Science

In category: Blog


Professor Karen Bickerstaff: A new look at Net Zero


In its 2024 Progress Report to Parliament, the UK Climate Change Committee makes clear that the government “will have to act fast” to hit the country’s 2030 target of a reduction in carbon emissions to less than 32% of 1990 levels.  Given the scale and speed of change inherent in decarbonisation, social scientists might expect a […]


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Dr Sarah Golding: More interdisciplinary training for researchers is key to tackling environmental problems


An Early Career Perspective on the Value of Interdisciplinary Training Networks details Sarah’s reflections on the Medical Research Foundation’s National PhD Training Programme in Antimicrobial Resistance Research. Interdisciplinary working is vital for tackling complex environmental challenges, such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR). To coincide with this year’s World AMR Awareness Week, she shared with us some […]


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To fly or not to fly? How did we make this decision? A reflective Q&A with the ACCESS team.


Steve: Stewart, can you tell us why people are so concerned about air travel?  Stewart:  From a climate perspective, the way we travel has a significant impact. For example, the well-known travel website seat61 estimates that travelling by train rather than flying can reduce the carbon impact of travel by 80-90%.   The figures can be […]


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Professor Stewart Barr: From ACCESS Guiding Principles to Travel Guidance: reflecting on tensions in travel choices


  The ACCESS Guiding Principles team (Stewart Barr, Kate Burningham, Sarah Golding, Steve Guilbert and Sarah Hartley) compiled and published our Guiding Principles in March 2023. We’ve recently developed our own ACCESS Travel Guidance document as an extension to these. In this blog, we outline the context for developing this guidance. Our Guiding Principles focus […]


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Dr George Warren: Working at the Energy Saving Trust. Reflections on an Industry Placement


During my PhD studies, I was very lucky to be partnered with the Energy Saving Trust as part of a networking and skills development project aimed at promoting Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) perspectives in the energy sector. My main role, set out in dialogue with the organisation, was to engage with people in the […]


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Dr Sarah Golding: Exploring potential barriers to effective knowledge exchange. Blog by Sarah Golding


Clare Twigger-Ross, who works as a consultant social researcher at Eunomia, highlighted two challenges for social scientists in consultancy roles: “When working in research as a consultant, we aim to work collaboratively with our clients as far as possible. However, a key area of knowledge that can be underestimated is that of the institutional, governance […]


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Emotions, Ethics, and Realities: reflections on decolonising conservation research by Jaya Gajparia


  In the summer of 2023, we secured funding – an achievement that many academics dream of – to pilot a research project focused on decolonising the conservation sector in the UK. While excited, I experienced a growing weight of responsibility to produce meaningful research results as we kick-started the project. There was a genuine […]


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How to make industrial decarbonisation relevant and fair for local communities? By Huei-Ling Lai


Update – Originally published on 17 October 2023 this blog has been updated with links to the project’s findings. All the project outputs (including 1 integrated framework, 3 contextualised action plans, and 1 policy brief) are now available on the IDRIC website. Also included is a recording of an online policy and practice workshop with […]


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Can Policy Fellowships help shape the future of Science-Policy Interface collaborations? 


    At a time where we grapple with complex poly- and perma-crises such as the climate emergency, cost of living crisis, and biodiversity crisis, rapid yet adequate responses are crucial. This requires effective collaboration between policymakers and the scientific community to co-produce solutions that can address the urgent socio-ecological challenges. The importance of social […]


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