地址ing climate change is a critical global challenge that requires the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions to net zero. The UK has a commitment in law to delivering net zero by 2050. Progress is being made, but many challenges remain. Despite the global context, most of the changes needed involve local action, notably in buildings, transport and agriculture. The talk addresses what will need to be done locally to deliver the net-zero goal in Oxfordshire. It draws on the report ‘Pathways to a Zero-Carbon Oxfordshire’ and the net-zero scenarios within it. It identifies the key steps needed, including solar photovoltaic deployment on buildings and on the ground, much better building standards in new developments, major programmes of building retrofit and zero-carbon heating, electrification of transport, less reliance on private cars and a shift away from high-meat diets.

Professor Nick Eyre is Professor of Energy and Climate Policy at the Environmental Change Institute of the University of Oxford. He is Director of the multi-university collaboration, the Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS), which is UK Research and Innovation’s main research programme on energy use. He is also a Co-Director of the ZERO Institute, Zero-Carbon Energy Research Oxford. In 2020, Professor Eyre, was appointed as scientific advisor to Oxford City Council, giving independent advice to the council regarding the climate crisis.