Results: Searching for 'Social Factors'

• Respondents have consistently supported government-led action to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. In 2017, over half of respondents (58%) thought that the government should do more to reduce emissions, with only 6% believing that the government should reduce efforts to lower emissions.
• Support for producing bioenergy from both biomass and waste has been consistently strong across all three surveys with the highest levels of support recorded in the most recent survey. Across the three surveys between 72% and 77% of respondents supported the use of biomass, and 81-84% supported the use of waste for bioenergy production.
• Bioenergy is associated with several positive features. The ability to generate energy from waste has consistently been the positive feature most selected by respondents. The ETI’s broader analysis highlights the importance of using waste feedstocks effectively to deliver emissions savings. In order to help achieve this, the ETI is investing in a 1.5 MWe waste gasifi cation demonstration plant with syngas clean-up.
• In all three surveys, competition for land and having to import biomass because not enough is produced in the UK have been perceived by respondents as the main negative features of bioenergy. Our 2016 report explored these views in more detail and concluded that using a mix of imported and domestic feedstocks could be publically acceptable, such that the UK is not overly reliant on imports and can maintain at least current levels of food self-sufficiency
• The government has consistently been the most popular choice to lead the development of the bioenergy sector, but a greater number of respondents trust scientists/academics or experts in the field, independent consumer or industry watchdogs, and environmental interest groups to provide reliable information on the sector. This suggests it will be crucial for different groups to work together to increase awareness and understanding of bioenergy while developing the sector in the UK.

This Meeting Report gives an overview of the 'Breaking the Deadlock in Climate Change Communication' event, which was held on 12 March 2014 at the Church House Conference Centre.

This briefing note summarises initial findings from qualitative research undertaken as part of a major project investigating public values, attitudes and views on whole energy system change.

A key objective of the project is to identify degrees of public acceptability relating to various aspects of whole energy system transformation and the trade-offs inherent in such transitions. This research has relevance as a research evidence base for informing development of future energy systems, as well as for understanding processes of and potential obstacles to delivery of such transitions.

This briefing note brings together the current state of policy and activities that CREDS and UKERC have undertaken to support data sharing.

The proposal is that our carbon intensive goods and services should contribute to lower carbon emissions and be redefined in light of climate change. A carbon label has the potential to be an important part of this redefinition, but should be built on a successful consensus about what a carbon label should do, how and how this is best delivered. This briefing paper provides a broad review of evidence and poses pertinent questions surrounding the development of carbon labelling.

This report is split up into a series of questions, each of which includes relevant research findings, key issues and questions and implications of these for further work or labelling. They are highly interactive, as a decision on one has considerable influence on other factors. This report is accompanied by an appendix that contains more in-depth explanations and reviews of pertinent studies, papers an

• introduces the ETI Smart Systems and Heat Programme;
• positions the Consumer Behaviour Project within the Smart Systems and Heat Programme; and
• describes the expected interactions between the Consumer Behaviour Project and the other projects of the Smart Systems and Heat Programme.

1. 30 Homes – a longitudinal (year long) study of 30 homes in Yorkshire, Manchester, Norfolk and London.
2. HEMS Field Trial – a three-month study of 12 homes in London to consider the ease of installation and participants’ adaptability to two different smart heating control systems

• Participant retention – one of the most important successes of both projects has been the positive relationships formed with the participants and their retention. This was because of
  • Open and effective communication
  • Clear agreements
  • Small teams assigned to each participant
  • Customer care and remuneration
  • Recruitment through other activities
• Logistics - implementation of effective procedures, forms and records by a dedicated project management team guaranteedsmooth running of the project.
• Health and safety best practice – robust health and safety procedures, installation guidance, well-rehearsed incident protocol, training of staff and provision of safety documentation for participants ensured that the team was always equipped to work safely and participants were never at risk
• Data protection – a detailed data protection protocol for the wider project informed the design of a robust system for maintaining anonymity of participants for any purpose other than direct contact, ensuring secure management of personal data further built trust between the participants and the project team.
• Engagement with suppliers and manufacturers – effective engagement with the manufacturers and suppliers of equipment ensured that stock levels and lead-in times were never an issue; problems that arose were quickly solved.
• Forensic analysis – integrated data analysis / interview preparation meetings (researcher, analyst, surveyor, etc.) synthesising data insights with social and technical insights.
• Data analysis – building an understanding of the conditions and behaviour within the monitored homes; and identifying whether occupants were correctly reporting their energy use behaviours. In addition data from all the homes (although the samples were small) was aggregated and cross-compared helping to provide hints of patterns across the stock.

• Ensuring a dequate lead-in time
• Defining the Research Aims
• Establishing the Monitoring Brief
• Intellectual Property (IP)
• What could not be monitored
• Remote or in-situ data downloads
• Health and Safety – a single incident could jeopardise both the future of the project and the reputation of ETI
• Participant acceptability
• Managing additional visits
• Appointments / logistics
• Data Management

• Income: Regardless of government involvement, many low carbon technologies will require consumer investment. The scenarios have not considered a fall in income, as existing literature suggests that the average income per person will continue to rise overall to 2050. However, the rate of this change is unclear, as is the relative amount of disposable income per person. The amount of disposable income will highly influence uptake.
• Fuel Prices: Energy bills are a consumer’s primary interaction with the wider energy industry, and provide a sense of their impact in a tangible way. The degree to which fuel prices increase will put increasing pressure on the consumer, having a direct impact on demand.
• Climate Change: As extreme weather events continue to become more prominent and highly publicised, the public’s need for energy security is expected to increase. The speed at which the impacts of climate change take place will influence the rate of change in energy behaviour

• Design and rationale for the pilot methodology
• Implementation plan and timetable
• Research questions, challenges and parameters
  • Consumer needs
  • Consumer behaviour
  • Explaining behaviour
  • Variation across groups
• Recommendations on what needs to be piloted

• Qualitative Workshop pilot study
  • Design & aims
  • Recruitment & engagement
  • Topic guide & stimulus materials
  • Diary format & sequencing
  • Sequencing of qualitative study
  • Implications for main-stage study design
• Residential Data Monitoring pilot study
• Clarifications, Questions and Discussion
• Conclusions
  • The pilot has proved useful to identify potential future problems and start to investigate the usefulness of the data.
  • Considerable development work is required regarding sensors, their installation and communication between the sensors and the main hub before they can be relied on to produce good quality data i.e. accurate and 98% availability.
  • In part, this was the aim of the pilot project. The challenge is to demonstrate that this can be achieved in time for the full trial and to allow good quality discussion of results with occupants

• Health and wellbeing
• Resources e.g. finances, waste
• Agency - the capacity and willingness of a person to act independently and make choices
• Relational dynamics - the social relationship between the individual or household and others, including the wider world

• YOU – decisions made on the basis of the needs of a dependent individual;
• US – decisions made on the basis of needs of multiple household members;
• ME – decisions made on the basis of the self-interest of individuals.

• What segmentation is
• Approaches to segmentation (using an existing segmentation, creating a new one, or a hybrid of the two)
• Attributes as drivers and moderators
• The provisional segmentation
• What the segments will be used for
• Limitaitons etc
• Conclusions
  • A segmentation has been proposed that meets project needs
  • The segmentation can evolve based on data from field research
  • The segmentation encompasses the majority of the current and future UK population

• Heat energy needs
• Heating the home and keeping warm
• What do people do to keep warm?
• Keeping cool
• Heating water and using hot water
• Heat energy solutions
• A technical appendix contains supporting information on sampling , questionnaire design, briefings, fieldwork, editing and coding, data weighting, and analysis and reporting.

• What is a Smart Energy Solution?
• The Baseline Perspective
  • How important is heat to consumers?
  • Are consumers willing to change their system?
  • How can solutions better appeal to consumers?
• Controls and Feedback
• Heat Delivery and Localised Heat
  • Radiators
  • Storage Heaters
  • Underfloor Heating
  • Warm/Forced Air
  • Secondary and other localised heat
  • Body heat retentionary
• Centralised Heat Generation
  • Heat Pumps
  • Communal Heating
• Hot Water
  • What Do People Want From Hot Water?
  • On-demand Hot Water
  • Stored Hot Water
  • Needs-Focussed Summary
• Cooling and Ventilation
  • The Importance of Cooling and Ventilation
  • Active Cooling
  • Natural Ventilation
  • Mechanical Ventilation
  • Portable Ventilation/Cooling
• Insulation and Building Fabric Improvements
  • Insulation Solutions
  • Glazing Solutions
  • Preserving Appearance
• Installation Process
  • Current Approaches to Home Improvements
  • Building Improvements Into Existing Plans
  • Whole-House Approach .
  • Reducing Hassle
• Advice
  • Advice on current system
  • Advice on potential upgrades
  • Building MOT
• Paying for Energy
  • Current payment models
  • 'Paying for Comfort'
  • Communal and Community Energy
• Consumer-led Solution Evaluation and Design
• Appendix A - Large Size Assessment Tables

• Financial support
• Data or IT infrastructure
• Physical infrastructure
• Supply chain
• Legislation
• Education, training and skills
• Enabling products and tools
• Other stakeholders

• Healthy Home HEMS
• Remote Zone HEMS
• Designer Retrofit
• Smarter Secondary Heating
• Complete Comfort
• Community Retrofit Pathways

• Payment - Who pays for the service (capital costs, ongoing costs, etc.) and what funding mechanisms would best suit the concept from a customer and commercial perspectives?
• Data Management and Protection - What data is essential for the delivery of the concept? Who needs to access and manipulate this data and how will this data be protected?
• Trust - How can customers be inspired to trust the concept interms of the technologies themselves, the parties responsible for delivering the concept and in the advice they receive throughout?
• Communication Channels - How will information be conveyed to the customer? From first contact through the life and usage of the system? Who will the messenger be? How will the concept be marketed?
• Cross-Tenure Appeal - How might the concept appeal to different tenures? What about to different customer types? What is the market size for the concept?

• Heat and Humans
  • The UK Heat Landscape
  • The Challenge
  • Meeting the Challenge
• What do consumers need from heat?
  • What needs drive consumer use of heat?
  • What do consumers do to heat their homes, heat water and keep warm?
  • How do needs drive behaviours?
  • How do consumer behaviours impact energy consumption?
• How do we design better solutions?
  • What are the challenges?
  • How to improve uptake/generate demand?
  • What are the potential impacts of better solutions?
  • Implications for the market
• Appendix: Detailed Needs Linkages

• People have wide-ranging needs that influence how they use heat energy in the home. But it appears that only a relatively small sub-set of these needs drive day-to-day, routine behaviours
• The needs that drive day-to-day, routine behaviours exist along a continuum of priority:some are fundamental needs, while other more peripheral and better described as ‘wants’. These peripheral needs only come into focus and become an influence on behaviour as people’s core needs are met sufficiently
• It is not only needs, however, that affect what people actually do. A dynamic and interacting set of household-level factors, encompassing people, property and systemaffect how and to what extent people are able to meet these needs, and which needs come into focus and influence behaviour
• People adopt complex control strategies to meet their needs. Some are highly sophisticated and considered, while others may be rudimentary and reflexive. They are also highly variable, given that people are working around a variable mix of people/property/system factors.
• What appears to remain constant across the population is that control strategies enable people to meet the aims (or fundamental needs) of comfort and health, while being prepared or required to make trade-offs in relation to the means (more peripheral needs, such as cost and convenience) by which they get there.
• People are extraordinarily adaptable yet highly resistant to change once they have developed a strategy that allows them to meet their basic health and comfort needs. They tend to make adaptations to their energy systems onlywhen there is a disruption to their normal flow of life that ‘pushes’ them to change.

To inform the UKERC Technology and Policy Assessment project that is examining consumer attitudes to changes in electricity supply voltage, the TPA team co-funded a working paper together with the Transformation of the Top and Tail of Energy Networks (TTaT), an Engineering and Physical Research Council (EPSRC) Grand Challenge research programme. The working paper draws upon a pilot study exploring consumer experiences and attitudes to appliance malfunction, which aimed to establish prior knowledge about voltage, and understanding of the Distribution Network Operators (DNO) role in supplying power.

• Services to domestic, commercial and industrial users
• Heat demand is highly variable (2010)
• 2030 generating mix?
• Multiple competing options
• Intertwined opportunities
• Complex socio-technical system
• Consumer satisfaction - machine learning

• ESME as an economic model
• Sensitivity studies for nuclear – approach
• Data from PPSS and ANT projects
• Updated ESME baseline
• SMR Deployment levels influenced by
  • CAPEX
  • First Operations Date For UK FOAK SMR
  • Configuration for CHP deployment to energise district heating systems
• Requirement for flexible power delivery
• The case for CHP SMRs
• Impact on the cost of energy system transition transition
• SMRs as a hedge technology for energy security

• ETI consumer research highlights issues to address if the UK is to change how it heats the vast majority of buildings
• Today fewer than 4% have low carbon heating and 90% prefer gas central heating»Location constrains the heating solutions available to each building and existing buildings have their own constraints
• People are diverse, they want different things from their heating (for example cost, comfort, health) – the same solution will not suit everyone
• Improve low carbon heating designs so they tackle common problems and enhance home life
• Simplify installations so they are more convenient
• Enhance heating control so people can value what they spend, get what they want from low carbon systems and factor heat into renovation decisions

This document sets out a response of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) to the Department of Energy and Climate Changes (DECC) consultation Electricity Demand Reduction.

In our response to the consultation on electricity market reform (EMR) we noted the potential importance of demand reduction and demand side response in achieving the Governments goals for the electricity sector of security, emissions reduction and reasonable cost.

All our responses are based on evidence from research by UK academic researchers independent of commercial or other vested interest. One particular focus of the response is on the option of premium payments (otherwise known as energy saving feed-in tariffs). UKERC supported research (Eyre, 2013) is the first peer reviewed academic literature on this topic in the world. We believe that an approach along these linesis consistent with addressing a market bias against energy saving that would otherwise be introduced by EMR proposals in their current form. We begin the response with four key concerns about the evidence base used in the consultation document and its supporting literature. We then respond to some specific questions identified in the consultation document itself.

The workshop presentations and the ensuing discussion clearly underlined the UK potential for community energy initiatives. There are in the region of 500 community energy projects currently in the UK, demonstrating a wide range of technologies and approaches. However, although these projects will generate a considerable amount of kilowatts, it is equally important to recognise other roles that they may play. The contribution of projects to, for example, combating social exclusion or increasing public understanding of renewable energy technologies may be as important as power generation or energy conservation.

This report is one of a series of working papers in the UKERC Energy 2050 project series. It investigated the role of pro-environmental lifestyle change for the UK energy system to 2050. We make two assumptions, both of which seem obvious when stated, but are frequently forgotten or ignored in energy futures work. The first is that the behaviour of energy users is not fixed, but rather the outcome of developments in society, and that these are uncertain with the level of uncertainty increasing over time. The second is that any policy framework that seeks to deliver major changes in the energy system, such as an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions, will be the outcome of a political process in which civil society, i.e. energy users in other roles, will play a key role.

We have used an innovative methodology to combine the strengths of detailed end use models (UK Domestic Carbon Model and UK Transport Carbon Model, both developed at the ECI) and a cost-optimisation model of the whole UK energy system (MARKAL Elastic Demand, developed at UCL).

The aim of the workshop was to bring together academics and practitioners from different disciplines and backgrounds in order to ultimately inform more effective approaches to public communication of, and engagement with, climate change and energy reduction. The overarching question to be addressed by the workshop was, What can empirical and theoretical studies of communication and behaviour change tell us about how we might move towards a more climate-friendly (low-carbon, climate resilient) society?. More specifically the workshop objectives were to: share cutting-edge research and practice; foster learning across disciplines and contexts; identify gaps in understanding; form new interdisciplinary contacts and networks; consider and generate new insights; stimulate novel collaborations; provide the contents for a book and a workshop report that would beuseful for academics, practit

The aim of the workshop was to bring together academics and practitioners from different disciplines and backgrounds in order to ultimately inform more effective approaches to public communication of, and engagement with, climate change and energy reduction. The overarching question to be addressed by the workshop was, “What can empirical and theoretical studies of communication and behaviour change tell us about how we might move towards a more ‘climate-friendly’ (low-carbon, climate resilient) society?”. More specifically the workshop objectives were to: share cutting-edge research and practice; foster learning across disciplines and contexts; identify gaps in understanding; form new interdisciplinary contacts and networks; consider and generate new insights; stimulate novel collaborations; provide the contents for a book and a workshop report that would be useful for academics, practitioners and policy-makers. Central to the workshop were three sessions relating to the overarching question: models, messages and media. These sessions involved 10 minute presentations from each of three presenters and a 10 minute response from an invited discussant.

Social Value is a rising policy agenda in the UK, formalised in legislation by the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. It refers to social, economic and environmental benefits whose value is not captured in financial flows. Whilst multiple tools and methodologies are available to measure Social Value, there is little consensus on which method is best to use in different contexts. This report reviews options and considers how best to measure Social Value in the context of major energy infrastructure projects such as HPC.

The report finds that value is highly contingent and subjective, and that what is valuable is not always tangible. It therefore emphasises the importance of qualitative measures of Social Value alongside quantitative data or monetary estimates, recognising the limits of assigning financial values to some types of outcome. It also stresses the importance of involving stakeholders to find out what matters to them and what they most value.

Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project this report was developed during a secondment at EDF Energy

Energy saving feed-in tariffs (ESFITs) are a relatively new concept and are designed to use the same principles as Feed in Tariffs for renewable energy (REFITs). They offer a promising way of improving electricity efficiency and reducing electricity demand, thereby decreasing carbon emissions.

The Electricity Market Reform proposals which form part of the 2012 Energy Bill provide a bias towards investment in new supply that could be addressed using ESFITs. 

In the context of EMR, ESFITs offer a means of delivering decarbonisation with a lower impact on consumer bills.

Because ESFITs do not rely on energy companies, they would provide incentives for innovation in project delivery in a much wider range of actors including householders, community groups, local authorities and small businesses.

The concept of ESFITs is simple, but there are policy design issues that still need to be addressed.

Local Authorities role in the energy transition and working with their citizens in doing so, has been recognised as crucial to paving transition paths. Material collated within this report is intended to better inform Energy Cities and its partners, Local Authorities and Municipalities, civil society groups and others interested in how citizens can be supported and encouraged to participate in energy system developments as a part of the energy transition. The findings in this report are therefore intended to directly help Local Authorities across Europe in implementing more participative approaches to their governance practices in energy systems.

Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with Energy Cities.

This workshop was a joint event organised by CREDS and UKERC Sarah Higginson, Catherine Jones, Kate Kwok, Marina Topouzi, Mike Fell, Gesche Huebner and facilitated by Mike Colechin

Key findings:

• The majority of local authorities have ambitions for action on sustainable energy, and 82% of those researched are active to some degree
• Local authorities were more likely to have an Energy and Carbon Plan than investment in projects
• Local authority investment in energy was focused on infrastructures for combined heat and power alongside the improvement of energy efficiency in buildings
• Across the UK, Scotland had a higher proportion of leaders in providing low carbon systems - the leading local authorities in England were in Yorkshire and Humber, Greater London and the North East
• The scale of local authority energy projects in relation to overall energy systems remains limited
• Local authorities have very limited capacity for strategic energy management

The brief highlights innovative practices in prevention, repair, and recycling that can transform waste management systems, while acknowledging their interconnected complexities across practices. It underscores the need for local authorities to take a whole-system and cross-sectoral approach, empowering them with resources and policy fr

Mapping energy participation: a systematic review of diverse practices of participation in UK energy transitions 2010-2015. What does public participation in energy transitions look like at a relational 'whole systems' level?

This document sets out some of the theoretical concepts underlying the project Mapping rebound effects from sustainable behaviours and reviews some of the previous studies in this area. The aim is to provide a starting point for the empirical research.

• Photovoltaic (PV) panels,
• Solar Thermal Hot Water (STHW) systems,
• Biomass boilers,
• Air Source Heat Pumps or Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP).

• saving money on energy bills,
• reducing their carbon footprint and impact on climate change,
• reducing their reliance on oil and gas (concerns over rising prices and future supplies).

This working paper explores what people may need to know, learn and have if aPersonal Carbon Allowances (PCA) scheme was implemented, and suggests ideas forpolicies, programmes and initiatives that could support them. A PCA scheme impliesthat individuals would have a personal budget of carbon credits, which they wouldneed to manage, to some extent, in order to stay within its limits, and in the bestcase scenario earn some money by selling not-needed carbon credits. Thus, thispaper looks at the budgeting process from the carbon account holders view pointand applies insights from how people budget under monetary and non-monetaryconstrains to the study of PCA. It also highlights related policy design issues.

The paper is composed of two sections. The first sets PCA in the policy contextalongside other existing and proposed emissions reduction policies. Next it explainsthe mechanisms through which PCA supposes to change energy demand behaviourand then describes the current discourse surrounding PCA in the UK. The secondsection lays out the rational for examining PCA through the lense of budgeting andpoints at questions arising from the concept of living within a carbon budget. It then discusses in detail the prerequisites for carbon budgeting, which include: setting the budgetary limits; knowing personalised carbon income and expenditure; having low carbon alternatives; having the opportunity to perform low carbon choices; receiving advice and support; and learning how to trade. This is followed by a short concluding section.

Personal carbon trading (PCT) is a proposed quantity-based policy instrument for reducing the carbon emissions emitted by individuals. The aim of the scheme would be to deliver guaranteed levels of carbon savings in successive years in an equitable way. A PCT scheme would set a total cap on all carbon emissions generated from the fossil fuel energy used by individuals within the home and for personal transport, including those emissions from air travel. In the UK these personal emissions account for approximately half of all carbon emissions. A PCT scheme would be part of an economy-wide emissions trading scheme.

The challenge of rapidly decarbonising our energy system can’t be addressed if only half of the population is involved. Unfortunately it’s old news that women are significantly underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects, with the UK having the lowest proportion of female engineers in the EU. Across all academic disciplines women account for 58% of Postgraduate students but only 25% of Professors.

Our research explores the current state of gender balance in UK energy research. We looked at the data and talked to female energy researchers about their experience of securing research funding and of academic life. They told us what needs to change.

This report describes the findings of a nationally representative British survey (n=961) conducted in March 2013. The main aim of the survey was to assess British attitudes to nuclear power and climate change two years after the Fukushima accident. The results are compared to a number of British surveys that were conducted at different stages before and after the Fukushima accident (2005, 2010, 2011, and 2012). This provides an overview of how public attitudes to nuclear and climate change have developed over the past decade and in particular after the Fukushima accident. In the longer term the data will be used for more detailed cross-national comparisons with Japan.

The work by Poortinga and colleagues (2013) has shown that British and Japanese publics have responded very differently to the Fukushima accident. However, the surveys included in the analyses were not specifically designed to examine the impacts of the Fukushima accident and contained different sets of questions. Comparisons could therefore only be made on a small number of items.

This new survey builds upon the previous work conducted by the authors of the study (Poortinga et al., 2006; Spence et al., 2010; Aoyagi et al., 2011; Demski et al., 2013) and examines British attitudes to nuclear power and climate change two years after the Fukushima accident. The British survey was coordinated with a similar survey in Japan allowing a detailed cross-national comparison of the long-term impacts of the Fukushima accident on public attitudes to nuclear power and climate change. The Japanese survey was conducted in February 2013 (Aoyagi, 2013).

This report describes the main findings of the British survey conducted in March 2013. The results are contrasted with previous British surveys where possible (i.e. Poortinga et al., 2006; Spence et al., 2010; Demski et al., 2013). Technical details of the previous surveys are provided in Box A. In the longer term, the data will be used for more detailed statistical analyses and cross-national comparisons with Japan.

This final report presents and discusses national survey findings from a collaborative and cross-national research project undertaken by Griffith University (Australia) and Cardiff University (UK) examining public risk perceptions, understandings and responses to the threat and unfolding impacts of climate change in Australia and Great Britain. The Australian national survey was undertaken between 6 June and 6 July, 2010 and involved a representative and geographically and demographically stratified national sample of 3096 respondents. The British survey was undertaken between 6 January and 26 March, 2010 and involved a representative quota sample of 1822 respondents residing in England, Scotland and Wales. These articulated surveys were distinctive in their cross-national comparative collaboration, in their psychological and social science nature, focus, and design, in their indepthnature, and in their focus on underlying public understandings and psychological responses to climate change.

This report addresses common findings from these two linked surveys, and expands discussion of issues and findings from the Australian survey. A report detailing the UK survey findings is available separately (Spence, Venables, Pidgeon, Poortinga, & Demski,2010). As well as shared questions and objectives, each survey had additional and differing objectives, with the Australian survey also examining in more detail public risk perceptions, direct exposure and experience, and psychological responses and impacts to natural disasters. The British survey examined in more detail respondents perceptions of energy policies and futures for the United Kingdom. The Australian survey also differed in that it was specifically designed and planned to establish a data base and research platform for documenting and monitoring climate-related changes and impacts in the human landscape over time, including changes in risk perceptions and understandings, psychological responses, and changes in psychological adaptations and impacts.

This paper examines public engagement with energy in the UK.

Using mapping techniques, the paper investigates instances of engagement with energy between 2010-2015.

The paper concludes with a number of practical recommendations to assist the move towards a broader, whole systems approach to engaging society in low carbon transitions.

Read Jason Chilvers' blog about the project here.

• Public awareness of energy security issues is low – and the issue is seen as less controversial than climate change
• Once the term is explained, however, people are concerned that it is not high enough on the political agenda
• People report that messages related to energy security are not being communicated clearly
• They feel that the responsibility for action lies with government, rather than with themselves
• People are generally supportive of renewables, but current coverage is creating uncertainty and the discourse between politicians, scientists and the media is causing people to switch off
• People are unhappy about the UK’s dependence on gas imports, with some open to nuclear power
• Scientists need to take greater responsibility for bringing energy security onto the political agenda.

• As part of the design process the current and future energy use of buildings together with the options for building retrofit must be known.
• Improved knowledge of local housing stock will help to improve estimates of energy demand in local areas and the appropriate retrofit measures.
• Knowledge of housing types and ages is an essential first step.
• Additional informationon the size of individual properties, the level of insulation (or other retrofit measures), the glazing and the heating and hot water system can help to improve estimates beyond those possible when only a simple property archetype has been identified.
• It will also enable better estimates of the opportunities for retrofit with the potential benefits and associated costs.
• Cost effective methods will be required to collect and collate this data across large areas.

Emerging from a placement at the Office for Product Safety and Standards, UK, the study underscores the importance of reflexive, flexible, inclusive and interactive policymaking that integrates public engagement and considers the intricate relationships between social, technologic

The overall objective of this research was to determine whether the operation of the CRAGs movement, and the experiences of individuals involved, can offer any useful information about the process of individual/household level carbon footprint reductions, the psychological effects of having a carbon allowance and trading system, and therefore any issues for consideration in the design of a Personal Carbon Trading policy. The specific aims were therefore:

• to obtain factual information about CRAGs, such as details of the carbon allowances set, accounting procedures and trading systems;
• to learn about the experiences of individuals involved, such as whether they have made behavioural changes and cut their CO2 emissions, and if so how, what they have found easy or difficult in their attempts to live a lower-carbon lifestyle;
• to elicit the opinions of CRAG members on their motivations for involvement in the movement, on personal carbon trading, and on the benefits and limitations of CRAGs;
• to attempt to discover what role, if any, being part of a group plays in demand reduction, given that the behavioural changes themselves are at the individual/household level.

The analysis provides an indication of key areas of public acceptability relating to whole energy system change, and offers insights into the factors that mediate and underpin views on transitions. Understanding the connections, associations and contextual issues that underlay public perspectives offers an important means for thinking through potential difficulties and opportunities in achieving major system change.

This report is structured around ten cross-cutting analytic themes which are interlinked.

Current policy debates and energy scenarios for the UK highlight the different possible ways of transforming the energy system in order to meet long-term national policy goals, including those of building a low carbon economy, achieving energy security and affordability, and mitigating environmental impacts. Although there has been much previous research on what publics think about specific ways of producing or consuming energy, we know far less about public perceptions, attitudes and values when elicited in relation to whole energy system change as an interconnected set of transformations in the systems of supply, demand, infrastructure and human behaviour.

Greater understanding of public acceptability of whole energy system change will present both opportunities, and also highlight challenges, for the delivery of UK energy policy and transitions. The research had three empirical phases: interviews with key stakeholders, a series of six in-depth deliberative workshops held with publics in England, Scotland and Wales, and a nationally representative survey (Great Britain, n=2,441). This report represents a synthesis of key findings drawn from the two core datasets relating to public perceptions and preferences i.e. the workshops and the survey.

This has been superseded by a new 2019 landscape

This UKERC Research Landscape provides an overview of the competencies and publicly funded activities in socio-economic issues research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in the UK. It covers the main funding streams, research providers, infrastructure, networks and UK participation in international activities.

UKERC ENERGY RESEARCH LANDSCAPE: SOCIO-ECONOMIC ISSUES

• Section 1: An overview which includes a broad characterisation of research activity in the sector and the key research challenges
• Section 2: An assessment of UK capabilities in relation to wider international activities, in the context of market potential
• Section 3: Major funding streams and providers of basic research along with a brief commentary
• Section 4: Major funding streams and providers of appliedresearch along with a brief commentary
• Section 5: Major funding streams for demonstration activity along with major projects and a brief commentary
• Section 6: Research infrastructure and other major research assets (e.g. databases, models)
• Section 7: Research networks, mainly in the UK, but also European networks not covered by the EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
• Section 8: UK participation in energy-related EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
• Section 9: UK participation in wider international initiatives, including those supported by the International Energy Agency

This UKERC Research Landscape provides an overview of the competencies and publicly funded activities in socio-economic issues research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in the UK. It covers the main funding streams, research providers, infrastructure, networks and UK participation in international activities.

UKERC ENERGY RESEARCH LANDSCAPE: SOCIO-ECONOMIC ISSUES

• Section 1: An overview which includes a broad characterisation of research activity in the sector and the key research challenges
• Section 2: An assessment of UK capabilities in relation to wider international activities, in the context of market potential
• Section 3: Major funding streams and providers of basic research along with a brief commentary
• Section 4: Major funding streams and providers of applied research along with a brief commentary
• Section5: Major funding streams for demonstration activity along with major projects and a brief commentary
• Section 6: Research infrastructure and other major research assets (e.g. databases, models)
• Section 7: Research networks, mainly in the UK, but also European networks not covered by the EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
• Section 8: UK participation in energy-related EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
• Section 9: UK participation in wider international initiatives, including those supported by the International Energy Agency

Through a case-study of Yorkshire water, staff interviews, examination of its current practices and insights from academic literature, the brief identifies opportunities for reducing energy use in water management. It underscores the need to enhance public awareness of water-energy interdependencies, emphasising shared responsibility for environmen

Social Scientists at the University of Edinburgh reveal that energy activities of UK local authorities focus on heat and energy efficiency for a low carbon, low energy building stock.

This research maps energy initiatives across all UK Local Authorities for the first time, revealing considerable regional and national variation in activity. The research also examines a sample of energy projects in depth from 40 local authorities and compares local authority engagement in Britain and Europe.

Local authority energy initiatives were found to be innovative and enterprising, with multiple objectives from income generation and carbon saving, to reducing fuel poverty. Developments are however hampered by austerity in public finances, lack of local powers over energy and policy uncertainty.

This policy brief explores the dual nature of DHTs in contributing to and mitigating healthcares carbon footprint. Focusing on Englands National Health Service (NHS), the study delves into how the adoption of digital technologies could either reduce or exacerbate the healthcare sectors carbon footprint, raising critical questions for the NHSs digital transformation efforts.

The analysis reveals that while DHTs offer avenues for reducing emissionssuch as telehealth reducing the need for patient and cl

Diversity in research

Ensuring diversity in research and innovation is vital for effective delivery of the Governments Clean Growth, and broader Industrial Strategies. As the Industrial Strategy argues, organisations with the highest levels of diversity are 15% more likely to outperform their rivals.

The Whole Systems Networking Fund

Over the past two and a half years, the UK Energy Research Centre has managed 1.5m of Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funding through the Whole Systems Networking Fund (WSNF). It has worked with stakeholders from universities, public-private partnerships, and NGOs, to pilot a model to diversify the UKRI energy portfolio through inclusiveness, encouraging gender balance and the nurturing of new voices and ideas.

Key findings

This report details the operation of the fundand provides an overview of the funded projects. It also summarises thekey learning from the programme, grouping findings into the following categories:

• Measures to broaden the talent pool: particularly around gender
• Connecting disciplinary focused and whole systems energy research
• Working with a wide range of stakeholders
• Learn lessons from best practice within the UK and internationally

At the conclusion of the Whole Systems Networking Fund, 80% of the funding had been allocated to projects led by women. Demonstrating that with the appropriate mechanisms in place mainstreaming gender balance across the energy portfolio is achievable.