Add new comment

Facing the climate challenge



bulbs

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.


What do you think?

This podcast is part of a project called Constructing our lives: The mathematics of engineering. We'd like to know what you think of this or any other article from the project you might have read and would be really grateful if you could take this 3-minute online survey. You'll have a chance to win an £50 Amazon book voucher!

You can listen to the podcast using the player above, and you can listen and subscribe to our podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify and through most other podcast providers via podbean.

Filtered HTML

  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a href hreflang> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul type> <ol start type> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Want facts and want them fast? Our Maths in a minute series explores key mathematical concepts in just a few words.

  • As COP28, the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, kicks off we look at how maths can help understand the climate crisis.

  • How do you create dramatic film out of mathematics? We find out with writer and director Timothy Lanzone.

  • Mathematics plays a central role in understanding how infectious diseases spread. This collection of articles looks at some basic concepts in epidemiology to help you understand this fascinating and important field, and set you up for further study.

  • Find out why the formula we use to work out conditional probabilities is true!

  • We talk about a play that explores the fascinating mathematical collaboration between the mathematicians GH Hardy and Srinivasa Ramanujan.