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Celebrating 10 years of UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources

Over the coming weeks the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources will be publishing content from each of our research themes reflecting on the work and achievements of the last 10 years.

ISR 10 years logo

To showcase our achievements over the past 10 years, we will be publishing a series of reflections on our research, teaching and outreach. These reflections will highlight the ISR’s remarkable contributions to real-world policies, debates, and decision-making processes – whether by governments, private sector, civil society, or other actors – through our research, engagement and teaching activities.

This will culminate in an event on the 8th December where a panel will discuss some of the major resource challenges facing the world today, and will look ahead to the role of the ISR in facing these challenges. 


10 weeks to capture 10 years

Over the next 10 weeks we will be releasing stories to capture the work of UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources over the last 10 years. 

Wind turbines in field from bird's eye view

Reflecting on 10 years

Week one

Reflections from UCL ISR Directors past, present and future on all that the Institute has achieved over the last 10 years.

solar panels in a field

Driving the low carbon transition through “induced innovation”

Week two

ISR Senior Research Associate Paul Drummond reflects on why the low carbon transition may be much cheaper than models predict.

The city of London

Tracing climate investments and shifting investment behaviour

Week three

Seeking to support system changes to the financial industry on climate change issues through data-driven analysis from Principle Research Fellow Nadia Ameli.

River running through a deep valley in Norway

Measuring the environmental sustainability of countries: the ESGAP story

Week three

Read the story of the Environmental Sustainability Gap framework told by Arkaitz Usubiaga-Liaño, Alison Fairbrass and Paul Ekins as part of our 10 years of ISR celebration

dashboard of an electric car with the battery icon in orange

Ten years of innovation and sustainability

Week four

What have we learnt from 10 years of innovation and sustainability? Associate Professor Will McDowall looks back over the last decade and what it has taught us in this field.

Forest path

Bioenergy: informing decision-making about a controversial energy source

Week five

The complexities of bioenergy systems explained by researchers Jen Cronin, Oliver Broad, Isabela Butnar and Julia Tomei.

Wind turbines in the sea

Assessing the impact of UK Government energy and climate policies

Week six

How has the Econometric Assessment research theme evaluated policies implemented on the back of the Climate Change Action, the Paris Agreement and the Net Zero Strategy? Professor Paolo Agnolucci reflects on the work of his research theme team over the last decade.

Birds sitting on wires with a blue sky

Ten years of energy transition and energy access in the Global South

Week seven

Changes and innovations in energy transitions in the Global South over the last decade, written by Senior Research Associate Xavier Lemaire.

sprinklers

What our students thought: Economics and Policy of Energy and the Environment MSc

Week eight

What is it like to study the Economics and Policy of Energy and the Environment MSc? Read the reflections of our alumni and programme lead Dr Lorenzo Lotti as we celebrate the teaching at UCL ISR over the last decade.

View from above of a park with a circular lawn in the middle

Sustainable Resources and the Circular Economy

Week eight 

The concept of a Circular Economy was in its infancy a decade ago, now it's regarded as a core aspect of a sustainable future. Discover UCL ISR's involvement in this research area over the last ten years, outlined by Associate Professor Teresa Domenech.

Field of crops at sunset

What our students thought: Sustainable Resources: Economics, Policy and Transitions MSc

Week nine

What is it like to study the Sustainable Resources: Economics, Policy and Transitions MSc? Read the reflections of our alumni and programme lead Dr Nino Jordan as we celebrate the teaching at UCL ISR over the last decade.

Pylons, wind turbine and an energy power station

Keeping fossil fuels in the ground: the transition to a net zero economy

Week nine

The transition from a high carbon energy system to a low carbon energy system will be challenging but could also provide huge opportunities - Researchers Dan Welsby, James Price and Steve Pye talk about the transition to a net zero economy.

Diagram showing the UK TIMES model

UK TIMES: a model that underpins government climate policy

Week nine

Planning the route to a low-carbon economy in the UK is a complex task, Professor Paul Dodds explains how the UK TIMES Model created at UCL ISR in 2012 is used to help achieve this goal.

Ladybower reservoir

Ten Years of Doctoral Research at UCL ISR

Week ten

What is it like to study for a PhD in Sustainable Resources? Read the reflections of our alumni and Graduate Tutor Professor Paul Dodds as we celebrate the teaching at UCL ISR over the last decade.

City centre green spaces

Identifying the economic impacts of policy interventions and the distribution of winners and losers

Week ten

Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models are widely used for policy formulation and analysis. Associate Professor Alvaro Calzadilla reflects on the contribution of the macro-economic modelling team in this area.

Wind turbines in the countryside

The shape and pace of change

Week ten

Solar PV, wind power and electric vehicles are increasingly prevalent in attempts to address climate change. But what are the future prospects for these crucial low carbon technologies? Senior Research Fellow Dr Nick Hughes elaborates on the future of these carbon cutting tools.

aerial view of allotments

For our future food systems, business as usual is not an option

Week ten

Ending hunger, ensuring water security, restoring biodiversity whilst tackling the climate crisis is no easy task. Associate Professor Carole Dalin discusses how some of her research at ISR hopes to help achieve this goal.

Cover of 'Celebrating 10 Years of UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources' publication

Celebrating 10 years of UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources publication published

Week ten

A new publication has been released, collecting all the writings from the last 10 weeks in one document.

 

Our teaching

We are at a critical juncture. To meet net-zero targets wholesale change is needed in the way we consume and use resources. For global change policy-makers, business and communities need to be engaged and we need sustainability leaders to drive it forward. We equip graduates with the tools to become a leader in energy and sustainability related industry, academia and policy making.

Sustainable Resources: Economics, Policy and Transitions MSc

The Sustainable Resources MSc gives students the tools to work towards more sustainable, efficient, equitable and circular resource use.

Economics and Policy of Energy and the Environment MSc

Economics and Policy of Energy and the Environment MSc equips students with the skills to become an innovator of policy-making, research and business. 

Sustainable Resources MPhil/PhD

This PhD allows students to become independent researchers and contributes to our their understanding of how we can use resources more sustaiably. 

 


Our research

Our PhD students, academic and research staff work across six research themes to advance study of the sustainable use of natural resources globally. We are also home to three methodological research groups that focus on economic methods and projects across our research themes.