The science says we must, the technology says we can, time to say we will!

To stay within internationally agreed ‘safe’ levels of global warming, the world must reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. And we must start now. This course offers an in-depth look at CAT’s flagship research project, Zero Carbon Britain, exploring the radical changes needed to rise to the climate challenge.

Zero Carbon Britain has been exploring climate solutions and pathways to zero carbon for more than 12 years. Our latest report, Zero Carbon Britain: Rising to the Climate Emergency, builds on our past research to create a positive and technically feasible future scenario that aims to stimulate debate, foster all-party political commitment and catalyse action across all parts of society.

Key information

As a result of the global outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) we are unable to run our Zero Carbon Britain course on site at the end of April.

We plan to run this course remotely via a digital platform, which will allow for the live presentation of course material and enable question and answer sessions to take place.

If you have already booked a place on this course you should receive an email. If you do not receive this, please email courses@cat.org.uk.

Please check back here for prices, booking details and more information in the coming days.

Course Info

• Duration: two days
• Upcoming date
  • 29 to 30 April 2020 – new live online course. Click here to learn more
  • 21 to 22 July 2020
  • 1 to 2 December 2020
• Start and finish times: starts at 10am and ends at 4pm on the last day
  Fees: £105
• Includes: tuition, all materials. (accommodation is now sold out for April 2020)
• Terms and Conditions:
  • you must be 18 years or over to attend our courses.
  • For full list of terms and conditions click here

What you will learn

The UN Paris Agreement demands that humanity must reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of this century. This is backed up by stark evidence on the effects of climate change presented in the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5C.

This is a big shift, but we have no option other than to succeed if we are to avoid really dangerous climate change.

Since its inception in 2007, CAT’s Zero Carbon Britain project has offered the hard data and confidence required for visualising a future where we have risen to the demands of climate science. It has helped to reduce fear and misunderstandings and open new, positive, solution-focused conversations.

The Zero Carbon Britain short course is ideal for educators, policymakers, campaigners, and anyone who wants to understand how the UK could rise to the climate challenge.

Some of the topics covered include:

• How we can provide a reliable energy supply for the UK with 100% renewable energy sources and flexible carbon neutral back up – without fossil fuels, nuclear power, or gambling on the promise of future technology.
• How we can grow the vast majority of the food we need for a healthy, low carbon diet, and manage our land to capture carbon, nurture biodiversity and increase the health and resilience of our ecosystems.
• How we can deliver a modern lifestyle, create employment, improve our wellbeing, and ensure that the future we leave for our children and generations to come is safe and sustainable.
• Understanding key barriers to change, and how we can overcome them – offering a range of other benefits in the process.

Meet your tutors

Paul Allen is project coordinator for Zero Carbon Britain. He has been a member of the Wales Science Advisory Council (2010), board member of the International Forum for Sustainable Energy (2008) and a Climate Change Commissioner for Wales (2007). He holds an Honours degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering and has been at CAT since 1988.