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.

The inclusive, sustainable international conference

How do we reconcile the benefits of scientific gatherings with tackling the climate emergency? Prof Richard Parncutt, University of Graz, has trialled a potential solution.

30 May 2022

The mirage of zero-emissions flying

Finlay Asher, Safe Landing, assesses the technical obstacles to the decarbonisation of aviation - and finds they are substantial.

29 April 2022

Encouraging a culture of climate activism in universities

Dr Emily Heath, SGR, shares 9 tips based on her experience of leading and supporting sustainability campaigns within the UK higher education sector.

19 April 2022

Are the UK’s professional science organisations putting their money where their mouths are?

Dr Liz Kalaugher details progress on SGR’s latest investigation into the financial links between professional bodies and the fossil fuel and arms industries.

14 April 2022

SGR's Stuart Parkinson and Jan Maskell at COP26 march

A new era of activist science

Andrew Simms, SGR, looks at whether scientists can be activists too, and finds that far from being anything new, many of history’s household-name scientists have for generations been getting involved in the moral campaigns of their day.

8 April 2022

Militarising research: The dark side of Global Britain’s science agenda

The British government wants the nation to be a 'science superpower' – but, asks Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, is this just a smokescreen to hide the expansion of military and economic priorities within the science and technology sectors?

5 April 2022

How the UK can learn from countries climbing out of gas dependence

In light of UK energy policy failings, Andrew Simms and Freddie Daley, Rapid Transition Alliance, look at where, even before the rapid shift in EU energy policy triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, huge leaps were being made in other countries to transition away from dependence on polluting gas.

18 March 2022

Does climate change cause war? Or does war cause climate change?

Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, examines the evidence of whether climate change causes war or vice versa - and looks at some of the implications.

17 March 2022

Solving the UK’s energy crisis: Heat pumps and insulation for peace?

Even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UK's home energy bills were shooting up, catapulting millions more into fuel poverty. But there are solutions which tackle this poverty, reduce carbon emissions, and in the longer-term insulate us from some conflicts, argues Dr Philip Webber, SGR.

15 March 2022

The threat from nuclear winter

As the threat of a nuclear war grows, Dr Stuart Parkinson, SGR, outlines the catastrophic climatic consequences should nuclear weapons ever be used - based on the latest academic research.

10 March 2022

Issues