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Riyoko Shibe, Ewan Gibbs
In November 2023, Petroineos announced the closure of Scotland’s only oil refinery at Grangemouth by 2025. Grangemouth is widely perceived as a ‘litmus test’ for the Scottish Government’s commitment to a ‘just transition’ for workers in the oil and gas industry to steer them on an orderly movement towards suitable employment in green energy production. The announcement came as a shock and disrupted just transition planning developed in Scotland since the late 2010s. Power imbalances between Petroineos and the Scottish Government and the workforce and trade unions demonstrate the difficulties of organising transition in a sector dominated by large multinationals subject to minimal accountability or transparency. This paper demonstrates the value of historically, economically and politically grounded policy analysis for achieving net zero. It assesses the Grangemouth closure announcement, focusing on governance mechanisms, UK, Scottish and local policy coordination, transparency and long-term planning challenges, particularly for net zero, energy policy, renewables and deindustrialisation. This article is published in the thematic collection ‘The critical role of governance for decarbonisation at pace: learning the lessons from SHAPE research’, edited by Sarah Birch, Hilary Graham, Andrew Jordan, Tim O’Riordan, Henry Richards.
20 March 2025
Stephen Hall, Anne Owen, Lucie Middlemiss, Mark Davis, Ruth Bookbinder
Should we govern the energy transition through bold ‘Mission Led’ government or pragmatic ‘Radical Incrementalism’? A Mission Led approach has an emboldened state setting clear goals for transformational change. Radical Incrementalism calls for pragmatic interventions that can be implemented quickly and benefit millions. Here we explore how the UK government’s commitment to Mission Led government applies to domestic and local energy and energy regulation. We expose our collective ignorance about whether the current energy transition is fair, and describe how Net Zero policy risks making inequality worse. We argue that both Radical Incrementalism and Mission Led government could improve fairness and distributional outcomes from Net Zero, by adopting a ‘relational’ as opposed to ‘rational’ view of domestic energy consumers. This article is published in the thematic collection ‘The critical role of governance for decarbonisation at pace: learning the lessons from SHAPE research’, edited by Sarah Birch, Hilary Graham, Andrew Jordan, Tim O’Riordan, Henry Richards.
20 March 2025
John M.G. Barclay
In view of the current experience of UK units in Theology and Religious Studies (TRS), reflections are offered on the benefits and potential threats in an era when it is fashionable for university authorities to amalgamate smaller units in the arts and humanities. Three strategies are highlighted: exercising leadership, cultivating a distinct and coherent identity, and creating persuasive local and translocal narratives. The experience of TRS is that small does not, and need not mean ‘weak’. But clear strategies and wise tactics that fit the local context (some are suggested here) are necessary for the continuance of a subject that is of crucial national and international significance. This article is published in the thematic collection ‘On recent closures and threats of closure in the Humanities and Social Sciences’, edited by Regenia Gagnier.
20 March 2025
Stephen Hall, Anne Owen, Lucie Middlemiss, Mark Davis, Ruth Bookbinder
Should we govern the energy transition through bold ‘Mission Led’ government or pragmatic ‘Radical Incrementalism’? A Mission Led approach has an emboldened state setting clear goals for transformational change. Radical Incrementalism calls for pragmatic interventions that can be implemented quickly and benefit millions. Here we explore how the UK government’s commitment to Mission Led government applies to domestic and local energy and energy regulation. We expose our collective ignorance about whether the current energy transition is fair, and describe how Net Zero policy risks making inequality worse. We argue that both Radical Incrementalism and Mission Led government could improve fairness and distributional outcomes from Net Zero, by adopting a ‘relational’ as opposed to ‘rational’ view of domestic energy consumers. This article is published in the thematic collection ‘The critical role of governance for decarbonisation at pace: learning the lessons from SHAPE research’, edited by Sarah Birch, Hilary Graham, Andrew Jordan, Tim O’Riordan, Henry Richards.
20 March 2025
John M.G. Barclay
In view of the current experience of UK units in Theology and Religious Studies (TRS), reflections are offered on the benefits and potential threats in an era when it is fashionable for university authorities to amalgamate smaller units in the arts and humanities. Three strategies are highlighted: exercising leadership, cultivating a distinct and coherent identity, and creating persuasive local and translocal narratives. The experience of TRS is that small does not, and need not mean ‘weak’. But clear strategies and wise tactics that fit the local context (some are suggested here) are necessary for the continuance of a subject that is of crucial national and international significance. This article is published in the thematic collection ‘On recent closures and threats of closure in the Humanities and Social Sciences’, edited by Regenia Gagnier.
20 March 2025
Sarah Birch, Hilary Graham, Andrew Jordan, Tim O’Riordan, Henry Richards
This article introduces the thematic collection, ‘The critical role of governance for decarbonisation at pace: learning the lessons from SHAPE research’, edited by Sarah Birch, Hilary Graham, Andrew Jordan, Tim O’Riordan, and Henry Richards. With confirmation that global average temperatures in 2024 exceeded 1.5° above pre-industrial levels, and near continuous news of extreme weather events around the world, there seems little to dispute the characterisation of UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, that ‘every country must deliver and play their rightful part’. Guterres and many others point to the urgency of action, even though it is palpably sluggish. In the collection, we argue that SHAPE (Social Science, Humanities, and the Arts for People, Economy and environment) research provides the essential lynchpin for policymakers to understand people, societies, economies, and cultures and what works in practice to bring about the transformative changes needed to respond to this challenge. The common thread of this collection is governance. Governance provides the political and civic mechanisms to deliberate and make inclusive decisions based on evidence and collective judgements about our shared future. The collection features crucial policy insights drawn from SHAPE research to advance the principles and practices of consensual governance, and to help navigate ‘an exit off the highway to climate hell’.
20 March 2025
Connor Smith
Governance lies at the heart of overcoming the Climate Emergency, where political barriers often impede the implementation of technical and administrative solutions. This paper examines subnational investment in the UK as a critical governance challenge, arguing that its competitive and economically driven frameworks exacerbate inequalities between local authorities. Drawing on SHAPE (Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts for People and the Economy) research and a case study of Aberdeen City Council’s hydrogen transport initiatives, the paper derives guiding principles for transforming subnational investment, advocating for an approach that prioritises collaboration over competition, strives for an equitable distribution of roles and responsibilities, and ultimately empowers local leadership. This reassessment is a critical step forward, acknowledging that business-as-usual governance is failing to accelerate progress towards Net Zero. By rethinking our foundational principles, we open the door to transformative change, ensuring that subnational investment aligns with the strengths of local authorities and the urgency and scale of the challenges we face. This article is published in the thematic collection ‘The critical role of governance for decarbonisation at pace: learning the lessons from SHAPE research’, edited by Sarah Birch, Hilary Graham, Andrew Jordan, Tim O’Riordan, Henry Richards.
20 March 2025
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Suggestions for a thematic collection of articles are welcome from those who have been supported through any of the British Academy's programmes and activities and from Fellows of the British Academy. See Information for Guest Editors for more information.