ECI Annual Review 2006/2007 - Environmental Change Institute ...

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Energy
The climate is changing because of the way that
we – humans – use fossil fuels. As we are the
problem, it should be possible for us to be the
solution.
ECI’s Lower Carbon Futures Team (LCF) develops
policy ideas to support a transition to an
equitable, low-carbon society. The work is funded
by grants from UK research councils and the EU,
and through contracts with government departments
and clients from industry and civil society.
The focus is on policy analysis and the development
of innovative ideas for energy saving and
adoption of low-carbon energy generation technologies
in the medium- to long-term. The UK
Government’s target of a 60% cut in carbon dioxide
emissions by 2050 is taken as a given; every
year this becomes more challenging, as the UK
has achieved only minor carbon reductions since
1990.
We use computer modelling and back-casting
techniques (ie starting with long-term targets
and working backwards from the future to the
present) to analyse how current policy needs to
change. We typically develop scenarios using
bottom-up modelling techniques, built on detailed
options for how society and the economy might
develop. We explore the potential for reducing
demand for energy as well as developing low-carbon
supply options. By comparing these future
scenarios with current policy and practice, we
are able to highlight priorities for policy and set
out key strategic issues. New initiatives are urgently
needed if the 2050 target is to be met.
We work collaboratively with other academic
research groups and partners from government
and industry. At any one time we are normally
working with over a dozen such organisations.
Since October 2004, Brenda Boardman has
been a Co-Director of the UK Energy Research
Centre, leading the Demand Reduction theme.
Several members of the LCF team undertake this
research into all UK energy use, together with
colleagues in other universities.
LCF members produce policy proposals, research
reports, responses to government consultations
on energy and climate change, consultancy
reports, conference and journal papers,
presentations to a wide variety of audiences, and
contributions to the wider debate in the general
media.
Leader:
Dr Brenda Boardman MBE
Key Research Topics
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Buildings
Energy Behaviour
Energy in the Developing World
Fuel Poverty
Lights and Appliances
Low Carbon Economy
Renewable Energy
Transport
Buildings Research
Our major report, 40% House, identified the scale of
the changes needed in the residential sector. The UK
Domestic Carbon Model (UKDCM) has been developed
and will be made publicly available early in 2007. The
research is now extending to the non-domestic sector,
through Building Market Transformation. This presents
an even greater challenge, as the base data are so poor.
Energy Behaviour Research
Energy systems are socio-technical - they are strongly
influenced by personal and social variables. We take
a particular interest in individual and social learning
about energy; the uses of feedback on consumption in
altering behaviour; and the changes in people’s ideas of
comfort over time. The importance – and the challenge
- of including behavioural factors is being recognised by
energy modellers and policy makers.
Energy in the Developing World Research
The research emphasis is on initiatives to lift the 2
billion people who lack access to modern or improved
energy services out of poverty, and combat problems
such as indoor air pollution and land degradation
caused by reliance on inefficient traditional forms of
energy. Sustainable energy is critical in meeting the
Millennium Development Goals to halve global poverty
by 2015, as safe, secure and efficient forms of energy
are vital to economic activity, healthcare, education,
transport, and protecting natural resources. Inefficient