STAGES on the road to COP26: Transformation wrap-up

• The crucial role of food systems in transformation
• The built environment 
• From transition to transformation in energy systems 
• Clean transport

Dr Helen Harwatt from Chatham House opened the event with an overview of the ways we produce and consume food, showing the often intense ways that they contribute to climate change. Our diets shape the food we produce, and our reliance on livestock has immediate effects on the atmosphere as well as for the amount of land used by our food system, taking up space which could potentially be used for carbon sequestration and decreasing land use efficiency. Depending on how much of a temperature increase is seen as acceptable, agriculture could take up a sizeable portion of our global carbon budget.

The presentation gave an insight into a system which is often not fully discussed in terms of transformative change, prompting attendees to focus on how to make this transformation a reality. One route identified by Helen was to change our diets to address consumption, with reference to the EAT-Lancet Commission’s review on the topic. Attendees took the opportunity to talk through the logistics of how dietary changes could transform the big picture, and Helen’s message was clear that there are opportunities for everyone to make positive changes in their daily lives.

Questioners were also keen to look for solutions to address the production side of the food system, asking whether governments should take action, or if we should pursue innovative zero carbon alternatives to fertiliser. The IES recently set out opportunities that the UK Government could take to achieve transformative change, and options like green manure or more sustainable approaches to soil health will be crucial to that success.

The second contribution came from Dr Simon Hatherley, who gave an overview of case studies and standards to transform the way we look at building houses. From the 1970s to the modern day, Simon explained concepts from the Conservation House and the Passivhaus standard all the way to more modern proposals for ‘autonomous houses’, which highlight the key role of housing in supporting a net zero lifestyle. Simon underlined the importance of housing reflecting and facilitating lifestyle changes that would be needed to support net zero ambitions. 

Simon finished by drawing attention to the housing crisis in the UK, and attendees similarly questioned whether external trends were influencing the chance to adopt these standards, asking whether declining house prices could open the door to sustainable design. A key consideration is that many of the innovations needed to produce net zero carbon housing already exist, but building developments are often constrained by commercial viability. These pressures work against the transformation of our built environment, where the construction sector has historically been driven towards producing for quantity over sustainability.

Political pressures seem to have helped build a case for retrofitting energy efficiency into existing buildings, forming a key aspect of both the UK and EU’s plans to recover from COVID-19. This is of particular importance in the UK, which has one of the lowest housing replacement rates in Europe. However, there is clearly more to be done, and the presentation from Dr Hatherley highlighted how important it will be to transform the ways we produce and use buildings.

The University of Exeter’s Jess Britton discussed a third system: energy, which is likely to be particularly high on the agenda of international governments with energy transition identified as one of the presidential themes for COP26. There was a clear and important nuance to Jess’s presentation, that even while we see lots of positive opportunities for energy transition, there is still more work to be done to make that transition a transformative one.

As renewable energy becomes more mainstream and affordable, the next barrier to success will be scaling the technology to achieve energy capacity while finding ways to integrate power, heat, transport, and the other ways the energy system interacts with society. Looking at the challenge, Jess highlighted a number of reasons to be positive, including progress with technologies and an increasing focus on the local level with better links to consumers.

The questions from participants focused on both the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of energy transition. Many attendees wanted to know what role nuclear should play in the energy composition of a sustainable energy system, and how we can effectively scale up renewable energy to reach capacity. At the same time, there remain questions about how best to go from transition to transformation, and whether it needs to be led by consumers or by governments setting new regulations.

The fourth and final system discussed at the event was transport, delving into the many ways that people get from one place to another. Dr Toni Velazquez gave a technical summary of current trends and how carbon intensive our transport would be under different transition pathways. Between fuels, batteries, and generation capacity, Dr Velazquez argued that this may be one system where there are no perfect answers.

Instead, the discussion focused on how to manage those risks and challenges, while still looking for innovative ways to transform transport. Attendees asked about how transport-related emissions fit into the lifecycle emissions of other products, as well as the ways that transport links to the built environment and the other systems which need to be transformed. Improved public transport links are often touted as being a key component of more sustainable societies - so how can we ensure these transport links are not undermining carbon reductions elsewhere or resulting in air pollution issues? 

The focus of the transport conversation was about how to find more sustainable transport solutions, with reference to fuel innovations like hydrogen, the balance between electrification of railways and driving development of electric vehicles, and the inevitable carbon cost of creating new transport links to increase connectivity. Much of that discussion remains open and will need to be decided separately by different countries and regions based on their transport needs.

One final question, posed to all four of the presenters, was whether carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) could be effective at addressing industrial carbon emissions. Reflecting the state of discussions elsewhere, the panellists gave different perspectives, highlighting the multifaceted considerations for the use of this technology in terms of its role in achieving climate ambitions and driving transformative change.

Inevitably, CCUS will feature in some form in many different solutions to the climate crisis, but over-reliance on CCUS as a sole solution is unlikely to yield the kinds of transformative change needed to remove unsustainable climate pressures from our society and the global economy in the long-term.