News
Here's a selection of the latest content on the Scientists for Global Responsibility website.
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Resources
Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, examines the latest data on the carbon emissions of the UK military - and reveals new insights on military claims that they are 'greening' their activities.
27 September 2023
Academic publisher’s response to SGR/UCS petition on climate pledges falls short.
19 September 2023
Andrew Simms, SGR, assesses the research so far on behavioural change during the COVID-19 pandemic, and considers the implications for tackling the climate and nature emergencies.
12 September 2023
Airlines have missed 98% of their previous environmental targets yet they keep urging more people to fly. Andrew Simms, SGR, discusses the industry's contradictions and how these can can be tackled.
16 August 2023
The Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine houses the largest nuclear power station in Europe. It is currently in an intensely fought war zone. Dr Philip Webber, SGR, explains some of the risks of radiation releases that this poses, both nationally and internationally.
10 August 2023 (updated)
Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, outlines how military involvement in UK science and technology is increasing rapidly, and argues that more needs to be done to challenge this.
1 August 2023
Andrew Simms, SGR, contributes to a discussion on restructuring the economic system to operate within planetary boundaries and support social justice, at the Manchester International Festival.
23 July 2023
Dr Philip Webber, SGR, summarises the key scientific and technological information on the current threat from nuclear weapons.
20 July 2023 (updated)
Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, summarises the latest research on what is – and isn’t – known about the size of global military carbon emissions.
8 July 2023
The idea that people can continue polluting if they just pay into carbon offsetting schemes always seemed too good to be true. SGR’s Andrew Simms and New Weather Institute’s Freddie Daley spell out six reasons why it is.
27 June 2023 (updated)
A new report has uncovered the “disturbingly close” relationship between the military-industrial sector and UK higher education, especially in areas related to Autonomous Weapons Systems. Nico Edwards, Sussex University, summarises the findings.
6 June 2023
In a new report, Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, argues that the government target for reducing overall carbon emissions at UK military bases is so weak it could be met without any action by the armed forces.
31 May 2023
Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, summarises the available data on international military carbon emissions. He argues that, as military spending increases rapidly in the wake of the Ukraine war, these emissions are likely to rise as well.
29 May 2023
Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, summarises the ways in which militaries and nuclear weapons can contribute to catastrophic climate change.
18 May 2023
Anna Jonsson and Gunnar Lind, New Weather Sweden, explain how the auto industry exaggerated the environmental benefits of hybrid cars – and how this was challenged.
12 May 2023
Prof Kevin Anderson, Manchester University, summarises the action necessary if governments and societies were really committed to keeping global temperature change close to 1.5°C - and how there would be wider benefits too.
19 March 2023
Prof Steve Thomas, Greenwich University, critically assesses the current enthusiasm for Small Modular Reactors in the UK and elsewhere. Will they help in the struggle against climate change, or will they sound the death knell for nuclear fission in the power sector?
14 March 2023
The UK government is considering increasing its military budget in the wake of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, outlines eight reasons why this budget should not be increased.
10 March 2023
Presentation by Dr Philip Webber, SGR, summarising the current risks due to nuclear weapons.
3 March 2023
In February, 2022, Vladimir Putin ordered Russian forces to invade Ukraine. Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, assesses the data on the impacts of the war during the course of the year – both on the battlefield and beyond it – and considers what the future might hold.
20 February 2023
Events
SGR online conference and AGM
From the war in Ukraine to the climate emergency, from economic crises to disruptive technologies, the world is confronted by what many are calling the 'polycrisis'. This event will offer analysis of false solutions and where we should really look for hope.
Publications
This short technical paper critically examines the progress that the Ministry of Defence has made in meeting carbon targets at its UK military bases. It concludes that the 2025 targets are very weak, and emission reductions to date are mainly due to non-military action.
May 2023
SGR's annual journal. Features cover: what would serious climate action look like?; nuclear power problems; human & environmental costs of the Ukraine war; carbon offsets; global military carbon emissions; and much more!
The journal comes with membership of SGR and keeps you up-to-date with our activities.
May 2023
Projects
Find out how to make your lifestyle compatible with the 1.5°C climate goal enshrined in the Paris Agreement with our 10 evidence-backed targets.
To read the full text of 'A science oath for the climate', see the list of signatories, and/or to add your own name, please read on....