Under the 2008 Climate Change Act the UK has set legally binding targets to reduce CO₂ emissions by 80%, compared with 1990 levels, by 2050. Some have suggested that the changes that are needed to meet these targets are similar in scale to the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. And since the built environment is responsible for over half of our energy consumption, most of the changes will need to be made here.

For this podcast we went to the Centre for Sustainable Development at the Engineering Department of the University of Cambridge to find out what engineers are doing to meet this challenge. We talked to engineer Alison Cooke, who manages a project called Energy Efficiency in the Built Environment, and two PhD students at the Centre and find out how engineers work with Government, business and other groups to help ensure a sustainable future.