How is it August already?!... As the summer holidays come to an end, Matt, Becky and Fraser are joined by Local Zero icon Dr Jeff Hardy to discuss both their personal and broader highlights and lowlights of the year so far.

We can’t live without water, but who controls the supply, and who looks after it, has been a highly debated and contentious issue in the UK, particularly in recent years. Matt, Becky and Fraser catch up on a hefty week of climate-related headlines before welcoming Hugo Tagholm, formerly of Surfers Against Sewage, and now executive director and vice president of Oceana, to talk about the controversies regarding water ownership and how best to tackle them from a national, and local perspective.

Why is place-based work so important? For the 75th (!) episode of Local Zero, Becky and a rain-battered Fraser are joined by Naomi Luhde-Thompson, leader of Rights Community Action, to discuss how we can work with communities, not for them. www.rightscommunityaction.co.uk

How can we utilise our garden spaces, balconies, window boxes and/or pots to benefit the environment? Matt, Fraser and Becky catch up on all things summer, and discuss their own gardening skills before being joined by Kate Bradbury, an award-winning author and journalist, who specialises in wildlife gardening.

What actions could usefully be taken to ensure these projects empower and enrich communities? In the fourth and final episode of our Carbon Offsetting for Communities mini-series, we explore how projects associated with nature-based carbon offsetting positively and negatively impact communities.

How are these carbon offsetting schemes financed and governed, and who actually owns these projects? The third and penultimate episode in our Community Carbon Offsetting mini series features many different voices and perspectives from the event held at the University of Strathclyde in March 2023. Consider this a deep dive into the world of nature based offsetting, guided expertly by your host, Professor Matt Hannon.

The UK music industry contributes billions of pounds to the economy every year, but just how carbon intensive is streaming and touring? Becky and Matt are joined for a fascinating discussion by Lewis Jamieson from Music Declares Emergency, and Carly McLachlan and Christopher Jones from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.

Becky and Fraser double as both co-hosts AND expert guests this time - updating Matt on a major local and community energy project they've been running for the Scottish Government, as part of their work at Regen. The team talk about how and why local and community energy can support a fairer transition to net zero. We also hear insights from a 'People's Panel' that was run as part of the project, asking how energy can be made to work for everyone, including low income, vulnerable, and 'hard...

How do our social relations with other people and places influence decisions about domestic energy retrofit? Becky and Matt reunite at the University of Strathclyde to speak with Professors Lucie Middlemiss and Mark Davis from the University of Leeds, and hear separate case studies from Iain Cairns, Ruth Bookbinder and Giulia Mininni.

How do we frame, evaluate and facilitate community benefit from voluntary nature-based carbon offset projects? The second episode from our Community Carbon Offsetting mini seires is a live recorded Q&A session featuring Hamish Trench, CEO of the Scottish Land Commission, Sarah Nicholas, Carbon Projects Manager at Forestry and Land Scotland, and Ailsa Raeburn, Head of the Community Assets Team and Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Chair of Community Land Scotland.

In March, Matt hosted the Community Carbon Offsetting conference at the Unversity of Strathclyde, which formed a fascinating gathering of people to discuss how land use and ownership is changing across rural Scotland in response to the booming carbon offset market. This mini series will showcase highlights from the conference - the first of which is this passionate talk about community with reknowned writer, academic and activist Alastair McIntosh. You can access the slides Alastair refers...

Edinburgh is both prosperous and wealthy - but also has unique and complex issues to tackle when it comes to reaching their ambitious Net Zero targets. This episode is a deep dive into Scotland's capital city, featuring Councillor Cammy Day, Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, Bridie Ashrowan, Chief Executive of EVOC (Edinburgh Voluntary Organisation's Council) and Matthew Lancashire, Director of Zero Matters.

What role do energy network operators - or DNOs - have in developing smart local energy systems? Becky - along with guest co-host Dr Jeff Hardy - lead an EnergyREV panel discussion with: Maxine Frerk, director at Grid Edge Policy Adam Bell, head of policy at Stonehaven Melanie Bryce, SSEN Oxfordshire programme director on Project LEO (Local Energy Oxfordshire) Doug Cook, deputy director at OFGEM responsible for digitalisation and decentralisation

What is the role of energy-smart places and smart local energy approaches in securing a just transition? In this Local Zero Live, recorded at EnergyREV's final summit in central London, Becky and Fraser welcome a panel of guests to explore how tech innovations and energy policy can work fairly, and for citizens and communities. Guests in this episode: Karen Barass of Climate Insights Donal Brown, University of Sussex research fellow Joanne Wade from the Association for Decentralised Energy...

Fraser has finally completed his PhD ... but what was it about? This episode is dedicated to the themes of Fraser's thesis, exploring social inequalities in uptake of low carbon technologies like solar pv and heat pumps, and uncovers ways to rectify those inequalities at local and community levels. Congratulations Fraser! Some elements of Fraser's PhD work are already publicly available -...

Concluding our four-part mini-series focusing on the work of Innovate UK's Prospering From the Energy Revolution (PFER) Programme, Matt and Fraser chat with Eva Goudouneix from Repowering London and Jamie Rea from the Electric Storage Company. This week: how to engage the public with energy projects and technology. 

This penultimate instalment of our month-long Prospering from the Energy Revolution (PFER) series focuses on Skills and the Supply Chain. Matt, Becky and Fraser chat acronyms, and a personal experience of issues faced by those trying to find work in the energy sector, before being joined by Louise Alter from Equans and Melanie Bryce from SSEN. 

This February, the Local Zero team are bringing you weekly podcasts focused on the work of the Prospering from the Energy Revolution (PFER) funding innovation. This week the focus is on finance. Joining us for the second of these special episodes are Cheryl Hiles, Director of Energy Capital (West Midlands Combined Authority) and Tim Rose, Programme Manager of Energy Superhub Oxford. But before all that, the team celebrate the submission of a certain PhD...

This February, the Local Zero team are bringing you a new podcast every single week! These special episodes are all focused on the work of the Prospering from the Energy Revolution (PFER) innovation funding. First up, a focus on policy and regulation to unleash smart, local energy systems (SLES). This one features Chris Dunham from Carbon Descent, and Merlin Hyman, Chief Executive of Regen. 

How well do our local councils perform when it comes to tackling the climate crisis? One not-for-profit organisation - Climate Emergency UK - makes it its business to rate and measure the performance and progress of local authorities, with their innovative Council Climate Action Scorecards. For our first episode of 2023, Becky and Matt are joined by Hannah Jewell, the group's Campaigns and Policy Officer.

Joining the usual team for a look back at 2022 in energy (with festive drinks and mince pies in hand) are Strathclyde University's Dr Jen Roberts and Manish Joshi. Together, they unpack an eventful (!) year, discuss key learning points from the energy crisis, and look for reasons to be cheerful. There is also the long-awaited return of Future or Fiction.

How are communities benefitting financially from commercial suppliers paying them for playing host to wind farms? Matt chats to Ian Leaver, Chief Officer of Fort Augustus and Glenmoriston Community Company, and SSE Renewables' Lindsay Dougan, to explore the benefits of these schemes, using Fort Augustus and Glenmoriston as an example.

Scottish Power's Robin Cathcart and Owen Black on the company's role in helping Scotland and the UK to decarbonise. Scottish Power is part of the Iberdrola Group, which recently announced a target to be net zero in all scopes by 2040 - 10 years sooner than had been previously aimed for.

Are there reasons to be cheerful about climate change? What are the most data-driven changes we can make to really move the dial on carbon emissions? Dr Hannah Ritchie is Head of Research at Our World In Data, an online platform hosted by Oxford University which aims to 'make progress against the world’s largest problems'. Matt speaks with Hannah about how the data she sees and collates tells a surprisingly optimistic story - and how numbers can be a powerful tool to hold governments and...

A year since Glasgow hosted COP26, the team reflect on the event's legacy for the city, and particularly for Strathclyde University. Matt, Becky and Fraser are joined by Dr Roddy Yarr, Strathclyde's Executive Lead for Sustainability, and Manish Joshi, CEO of the Students Union.