Net Zero Living and Societal Change: A Scoping Study

This scoping project will explore societal concepts of ‘net zero living’ to support work by the City of Edinburgh Council and Climate Commission on accelerating climate action and impact.

We will consider what can be learned from recent past ‘future city scenarios’ for the development of new kinds of narrative scenarios (dystopias and utopias) about ‘net zero living’ in a city like Edinburgh. The scoping study will examine the usefulness of dystopian/utopian thinking/scenario building; both as a mode of critical engagement and a means of exploring current visions of the future.

The project is led by Prof. Jan Webb and Prof. Jamie Cross and is supported by Lisa Howard, Research Fellow. The findings and summary report will contribute to a full-scale ESRC funding bid being developed by colleagues in Sociology and Social Anthropology.