Introduction

The most recent meeting of the IEAGHG Social Research Network, titled ‘Energy Transformations and the Role of Social Sciences’ was held in Cambridge, UK in July. Kindly hosted by the University of Cambridge at the beautiful St Catharine’s College, and sponsored by the UK CCS Research Centre, this one day meeting on Monday 6th July 2015 was packed with captivating talks from all aspects of the topic of social research and science in relation to CCS and energy technologies. 

Overview

The meeting – ‘Energy Transformations and the Role of Social Sciences’ – kicked off with a wonderful dinner in the Senior Combination Room at St Catharine’s, where attendees were addressed by Lord R. Oxburgh, member of the House of Lords and also President of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA), who gave a brief welcome talk on energy transitions and the importance of CCS.

Sessions at this year’s SRN meeting – the 5th in the series – included an in-depth look into social science and the energy domain across the UK and Europe; recent research findings from the Asia Pacific region; risk and perceptions of CCS (and other energy technologies); and an insight into the history of energy transformations. Over 26 delegates attended the meeting, from 6 different countries. 

Delegates were treated to a spectacular meeting dinner on the Monday evening, held at the prestigious Trinity Hall, where discussions from the day flowed into the dinner, allowing for yet more fruitful conversations to take place around the recent developments and importance of social research in CCS. 

On Tuesday the 7th July, the UKCCSRC held a related workshop on the issues in governance and ethics of CCS. For more information on this please see the UK CCS Research Centre’s website.