News, Jobs, Events, Opportunities and lots more...
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A quick round up of this week's news, jobs and opportunities
News
Welsh public opinion on Net Zero and Climate Policy – ACCESS Net Zero Taskforce webinar
ACCESS's Patrick Devine-Wright, Alice Moseley and Jenny Hatchard recently delivered a webinar, hosted by Environment Platform Wales, which looked at Welsh public opinion on net zero and climate policy.
They shared insights from the ACCESS Net Zero Citizens' Survey undertaken in Summer 2024, and looked at Welsh support for Net Zero targets and views about the likelihood of achieving these, as well as opinions on fairness, bias and public and stakeholder involvement in policy.
Lucie Middlemiss and Mark Davis win this year's Energy Research & Social Science Best Paper Award
Congratulations to Lucie Middlemiss and Mark Davis (University of Leeds) and colleagues, who have won this year's ERSS Best Paper Award for their article 'Developing a relational approach to energy demand: A methodological and conceptual guide'.
In it, they present a methodological and conceptual guide to working on energy-demand topics, and articulate how research can be designed to capture the role of social relations in shaping decision-making on energy and to offer innovative insights for policy-makers and practitioners.
Summer break
The ACCESS newsletter will take a summer break over August and will return on Friday 5 September.
Please do continue to send in any news or events that you would like me to share for September. And have a great summer break!
Events
Sustainability of AI: Probing the Problem and Scoping Solutions: A public lecture & networking event
Wednesday 10 September, 4.30-7pm, Reed Hall, University of Exeter
This is an evening of interdisciplinary dialogue on the environmental sustainability of artificial intelligence.
This event features a networking reception with drinks and canapés followed by a keynote public lecture by Sebastián Lehuedé (King's College London) and a Q&A discussion session.
Whether you're an expert, an early-career researcher, or simply curious about how we can create a more environmentally responsible AI future, this will be a space to reflect, connect, and engage.
Talking home energy injustice: rethinking the language of inequality
Tuesday 23 September, 3-4pm, online
This webinar on home energy injustices at the global scale will bring together scholars, practitioners and community members.
In line with the findings of a recent Energy Demand Research Centre (EDRC) Perspective published in Nature Energy, it will critically consider of the dominant vocabulary on home energy injustices, promoting dialogue and foster connections among those working at the intersection of energy and climate transitions, social equity and housing.
This is an opportunity to help shape a growing network of interest and collaboration.
The webinar will include:
- A presentation by Stefan Bouzarovski, lead author of the Perspective piece
- An international panel discussion with Harriet Thomson, Tony Reames, Karla Cedano and Mari Martiskainen, all experts in this field
- An opportunity to ask questions
International Climate Resilience Conference
Sunday 26 – Wednesday 29 October, Ludwig- Maximillians-University of Munich (LMU)
The conference brings together leading academics and emerging scholars to discuss the latest research in the scientific field of climate resilience. It also welcomes policymakers, practitioners, and community leaders to share strategies and innovations in real-world settings.
The conference aims to provide a platform for collaboration on climate resilience studies, to establish a community for resilience researchers, and to promote a resilience thinking instead of risk thinking in the narrative of climate change.
Registration deadline: Saturday 15 August
Funding
Turing AI Pioneer Interdisciplinary Fellowships
Apply for fellowship funding to build AI capability. This opportunity is for established researchers from across UKRI remit, without a background in core AI research, who want to build domain relevant AI capability. You must be hosted at a UK research organisation eligible for UKRI funding.
You must be hosted and supported by a UK research organisation eligible for UKRI funding.
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £2,187,500. UKRI will fund 80% of the FEC. The funding is subject to final budget approvals.
Projects can be up to three years in duration and must start on 1 October 2026.
Deadline: Tuesday 14 October, 4pm
Training
Systematic Reviews of Mixed Methods Evidence CPD Course
Wednesday 28 & Thursday 29 January, University of Exeter
Join University of Exeter Professor Ruth Garside and a team of leading experts with extensive experience of producing evidence synthesis and providing training for a range of policy customers, including NICE, NHSE, DHSC, WHO, UN’s Green Climate Fund. The course will be delivered through a mixture of lectures, hands-on exercises, small group work, and plenary discussion.
Course Objectives:
- Approaches, tools and methodologies for mixed methods systematic reviews and syntheses.
- When mixed methods design might be appropriate.
- How to formulate mixed methods review questions.
- Approaches to searching, study selection, data extraction and critical appraisal.
Audience: Early career and experienced researchers, NGOs, PhD students, clinicians, VCSEs and other practitioners.
Early-bird pricing currently available
C-DICE EDI Toolkit – free online training to help improve EDI in research proposals and projects
This C-DICE (The Centre for Postdoctoral Development in Infrastructure, Cities and Energy) EDI Toolkit is an interactive, online learning resource offering flexible and accessible support for embedding Equity/Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in research.
Developed in partnership with The University of Birmingham, Loughborough University and The University of Nottingham, it’s open to researchers at any career stage and from any institution.
Through a combination of foundational guidance and scenario-based learning, the Toolkit equips you with the skills to:
- Identify key EDI considerations in research planning
- Reflect on how to embed EDI into proposals
- Improve the quality and impact of EDI statements in grant applications
Info
Only 1% of UKRI peer-review panellists in 2023-24 were Black
According to recently released UKRI (UK Research & Innovation) equalities monitoring data, only 1% of peer-review panel members were Black, compared with 73% of panellists who were white, 9% of panellists who were Asian, and 2% of panellists who described their ethnicity as mixed.
Only 2% of panel members identified as disabled, compared to 85% who self-described as not disabled.
Two-thirds of the panellists were aged between 40 and 59, 10% were aged between 30 and 39, and 5% were aged under 30.
The majority of panel members (56%) were men, with 39% of panellists being women and 6% of members of unknown or undisclosed gender.
“These demographics emphasise the importance of continued efforts to diversify panel membership as decision-making processes play a critical role in shaping funding outcomes,” notes the report.
"Moving forward, UKRI aims to better understand and address these causes though experimenting and innovating in peer review (including working with the UK Metascience Unit), improving transparency in decision-making, and creating the conditions for greater diversity among applicants and panels alike," it goes on to state.
Eco-hubs can act as catalysts for pro-environmental behaviour, social inclusion, and mental wellbeing
Louise Venables and Daniel Derbyshire (European Centre for Environment and Human Health (ECEHH), University of Exeter) have recently conducted a collaborative study with Nicky Nicholls from Sideshore Community Eco-Hub in Exmouth, examining how eco-hubs can act as catalysts for pro-environmental behaviour, social inclusion, and mental wellbeing.
The findings, which were presented at the Global Tipping Points conference at the University of Exeter earlier this month, demonstrate significant positive impacts – including increased environmental action, stronger community belonging, and reduced eco-anxiety. The project also showcases the value of participatory research in understanding local sustainability initiatives.
Why do people eat red meat even when they intend not to?
A new paper from Kate Laffan (London School of Economics) and Caroline Verfuerth (Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformation (CAST), Cardiff University) shows that feeling good in the moment, doing what’s convenient, and aiming to do the “right” thing – can often collide when it comes to eating red meat.
'Exploring when reducers and non-reducers eat red meat – a qualitative analysis of goals and situations', published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, explores why people who intend to reduce their red-meat consumption still eat meat, through the lens of goal framing theory.
The authors suggest that pleasurable experiences with and increased availability and convenience of plant-based alternatives, alongside interventions like goal reminders and implementation intentions, can help.
Bringing Activism into Scientific Spaces
This piece on the Earth Notes blog, featuring Ben Dickenson Bampton, Communications Lead at Green Futures Solutions (University of Exeter) and Emma de Saram, an intersectional climate justice activist, discusses the ways scientists and activists can work together to shape the climate narrative and inspire action.
The Lancet One Health Commission: harnessing our interconnectedness for equitable, sustainable, and healthy socioecological systems
In this article in the Lancet by Andrea S Winkler (University of Munich, University of Oslo, Harvard Medical School) et al. describes the objectives and recommendations of the Lancet One Health Commission:
"The Lancet One Health Commission provides a cutting-edge appraisal of where One Health has come from, where it is now, and what a viable future should be. The Commission explicates the importance of the environment and the criticality of the One Health approach to surveillance, infectious diseases, AMR, NCDs, health systems, and food systems. The Commission calls for individual, community, organisational, national, regional, and international action to advance equitable, sustainable, and healthy socioecological systems."
Are you on the ACCESS Environmental Social Science expert database?
Join our searchable database of social scientists and experts working in the fields of climate and environment. The database includes both academics in universities as well as those working in the public sector, charities and businesses. It's quickly becoming one of our most visited web pages. A useful resource for people looking to collaborate and connect with environmental social scientists.
It only takes 15 to 20 minutes to complete the online form.
Share your news
Thank you to all the contributors who sent items in for this week's newsletter.
Do get in touch if you have any events, job or funding opportunities or new research that you would like to share with the ACCESS Network.
And if you have any feedback on the newsletter, we'd love to hear it.
Email me (Suzy) at: s.p.a.darke@exeter.ac.uk
