In June 2019, the UK Government amended its Climate Change Act to become the first major economy in the world to make a legally binding commitment to Net Zero (NZ) emissions by 2050. To meet this target of net zero requires large-scale and extensive innovation across the UK energy system. This will require change within all sectors and industries, fast paced technological advancement and substantive social engagement alongside changes in practices and behaviour. Given the scale of change and investment required it is therefore vital that decisions are taken based on the best available scientific evidence. The aim of this project was to ensure that the research funded by the UKRI Energy and Decarbonisation Programme had the maximum opportunity to inform and guide the response of UK decision makers to climate change. By the end of the project, a shared vision had been developed that outlined a narrative for net zero in the short term (the next 10 years) and the long term (the following 10 years) by leading UK academics and others. It also identified those areas in which consensus could not be achieved, clarifying where further research, wider engagement, or political interventions to prioritise key ethical principles or contested values, might serve to help such conflict. The data collections consists of data collected from a series of workshops with participants with expertise across the climate and energy field. The workshops were organised to explore the extent of consensus around a shared narrative for how NZ can be achieved. We also explored with participants the potential role of research in delivering this narrative. Following a brief overview of our methods, this paper distils 12 ‘conditions’ for delivering NZ which synthesise key messages for multiple stakeholder groups including the public, private and third sector, and the research community.The UK needs to continue the rapid transition from a high carbon society to one where GHG emissions are close to zero. It is essential that the best available evidence and insights from multiple disciplines are available to guide such a rapid transition. Due to the speed of the transition, there is a serious concern that decisions could be made without drawing on the best available scientific evidence and without appreciating the need for a whole systems approach. For many years, the EPSRC, along with other Research Councils, have funded research to develop new low carbon technologies. They have also funded centres that have adopted an inter-disciplinary approach to appreciate the necessary changes in the energy system and the wider social and economic implications of achieving emissions reductions. While this funded research has had many notable impacts on decisions related to energy and climate policy within Government and other stakeholders, these are often piecemeal and highly dependent on the networks developed by individuals. The academic community has never spoken with a coordinated voice to provide clarity to decision makers on the essential changes required to rapidly reduce UK emissions, while external stakeholders currently struggle to access and exploit the research that can inform their decisions. While a full consensus would never be entirely possible, due to underlying differences across disciplines and sectors in how to frame and understand the problem, it is important to provide space to explore where consensus and disagreements does currently exist, while also providing insights into the underlying paradigms that guide diverse responses to the climate crisis. This project employs deliberative methods to develop points of consensus and disagreement among stakeholders, and approach that is becoming increasingly recognised as a valuable tool to help develop both energy and climate policy. The aim of this project is to ensure that the research funded by the UKRI Energy and Decarbonisation Programme has the maximum opportunity to inform and guide the response of UK decision makers to climate change. By the end of the project, a shared vision will be developed that outlines a narrative for net zero in the short term (next 10 years) and the long term (the following 10 years) by leading UK academics and others. It will also identify those areas in which consensus cannot be achieved, clarifying where further research, wider engagement, or political interventions to prioritise key ethical principles or contested values, might serve to help such conflict. The desired outcome is to create a situation whereby rapid but above all robust decisions made in the UK are informed by the most advanced research on climate mitigation. While the project is centred on achieving impact, we will develop a robust methodology based on deliberative methods to ensure the output of academic publications. The project offers opportunities to advance methodologies, explore the use of evidence in decision making and the dynamics of engaging with diverse stakeholders.

Data was collected through a series of 8 one day deliberative workshops with researchers and stakeholders (N = 83), carried out between February and November 2021. Workshops were designed in a process of three ‘rounds’, each with slightly different aims, designed to build on the outputs of the previous round. In the first round, two workshops were carried out with experts from the research community (n = 23, n = 19). The second round involved four workshops with participants from four sectors, respectively: the public sector (n = 10), private sector (n = 12), third sector (n = 12) and the funding and investment community (n = 7). The final round brought back the original participants from the research community for two more workshops (n = 12, n = 16).