Responsible Science

We currently focus on four main issues: disarmament and security, climate change and energy, questions of who controls science and technology and issues surrounding new and emerging technologies. You will also see that we work on some other issues too. You can explore these with the menu on the left of this page and with the search function. Material in this section includes all SGR's main outputs since 2005, with a selection of the more important material from before then.

Overconsumption, the climate emergency and the scientific community

As the stark findings of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change make global headlines, Prof Julia Steinberger, University of Lausanne, explores how to live well within environmental limits, and asks why questioning overconsumption is so problematic.

11 August 2021

Nuclear weapons are now illegal

On 22nd January 2021, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) became part of international law. As the world marks the anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Dr Philip Webber, SGR, examines the implications of this new UN treaty.

6 August 2021

Lessons from the campaign to end big oil sponsorship of culture

Jess Worth, Culture Unstained, reflects on the successes of, and obstacles to, the campaign to end fossil fuel sponsorship of art organisations and museums.

30 July 2021

Institutional gaps between words and action on climate science: Royal Society calls for low-carbon finance but still invests in fossil fuels

With the Royal Society holding a conference on green finance, Andrew Simms, SGR, looks at the gap between the institution's words and actions.

22 July 2021

Space tourism: environmental vandalism for the super-rich

As billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson launch the first flights of their space tourism corporations, Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, takes a look at the climate impacts.

20 July 2021

What if we treated the climate emergency as seriously as we treated COVID–19?

Prof Alice Larkin, University of Manchester, argues that, if our society were really serious about tackling climate change, we would put much greater priority on social and economic change - as shown by the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

29 June 2021

More fight, less fuel: the military approach to climate change

As NATO publishes its new climate plan, Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, questions whether the current military interest in reducing greenhouse gas emissions is serious.

15 June 2021

The carbon bootprint of the military (June 2021)

Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, looks at the latest data on military carbon emissions, both in the UK and internationally - revealing the actual extent of the 'carbon bootprint'. He also outlines the threat to the climate from nuclear weapons.

3 June 2021

Brexit Britain’s security policy: cutting aid to spend on weapons

Britain’s security and defence priorities in the wake of Brexit emphasise high tech military equipment such as robotic and nuclear weapons, while overseas aid is slashed and action on climate change remains inadequate. Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, assesses the situation.

11 May 2021

The military carbon bootprint and arms conversion

Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, outlines how the military fuels climate change - and thus how there is an urgent need for arms conversion. He summarises the latest data on the 'military carbon boot-print' and looks at examples of arms conversion, from the 1976 Lucas Plan to the 2020 Ventilator Challenge.

23 April 2021

Issues