• Question: In the area of power and energy, do you ever have moral conflict knowing this work is causing climate change?

    Asked by hahs532gent72 to stefaniduncan, Dr Shikhar Mittal, Roman L, josephcameron, freyawise, Enrico, Daniel, ciarabyers, Christina H, Caroline on 20 Dec 2025.
    • Photo: Christina Higgins

      Christina Higgins answered on 20 Dec 2025:

      That’s a very important question. I am very concerned about climate change, and most of my work focuses on reducing energy use and CO2 emissions from buildings to try to help minimise the impact we are having on the climate. For example I am trying to show, using experiments and models, that we can use open windows instead of mechanical ventilation (fans) for fresh air in buildings.

    • Photo: Caroline Roche

      Caroline Roche answered on 20 Dec 2025:

      Yes, that’s why following reduce, reuse and recycle is so important – if we buy electrical equipment, it’s important to reuse or recycle it so that the components aren’t just sent to landfill. We should also try to reduce the amount of single use items we use.
      It can be difficult because the true cost of things (climate change wise) can be hidden e.g. we can save paper/ink by not printing documents but what is the cost in keeping them on a cloud server.
      I like to think my work in the nuclear industry is helping reduce the carbon footprint of energy production compared to coal and will help as energy requirements grow higher and higher, especially with the development of more AI applications and data centres.

    • Photo: Stefani Duncan

      Stefani Duncan answered on 9 Feb 2026:

      Good question! I work in the Energy industry, predominately working on Oil and Gas projects.

      The Oil and Gas industry has unfortunately suffered a lot recently due to climate change protests.

      The key part to understand with oil and gas is that supply must meet demand. Roughly 86% of households in the UK use gas heating, with around 6% utilising oil heating (typically more rural areas).

      So if we don’t utilise the oil and gas local to us in the UK, where do we get the oil and gas from to heat our homes? That then means that we have to import oil and gas from abroad, which is more energy intensive and puts even more greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. Also, by importing from abroad, we have no control over the emissions when producing the oil and gas.

      I worked offshore for 18 months on secondment and I was proud to play a part in producing the UK’s oil and gas. As our contributions, long shifts and being away from home helped to heat your home.

      I agree that producing oil and gas causes greenhouse gases. However, until 92% of the UK’s homes change away from oil and gas, there is no escaping fossil fuels. Until that point, we should continue to produce the UK’s oil and gas and control the emissions that come from the remaining oil and gas platforms.

Comments

  • Photo: Luke F

    Luke F commented on :

    Yes, there is a moral tension at times. We manufacture resistors that are used in renewable energy systems, so our products directly support decarbonisation and the transition away from fossil fuels. At the same time, our manufacturing process is extremely energy-intensive, particularly the kilns, which currently run on natural gas.

    I think it’s important to be honest about that contradiction rather than ignore it. For me, the ethical responsibility comes from actively working to reduce the impact. We are always looking at improving efficiency, reducing waste, and exploring where renewables and lower-carbon alternatives can realistically be introduced into our processes. Being involved at a technical level means I can help drive those improvements, rather than stepping away and leaving the problem unchanged.

    So while the conflict exists, I see the work as part of a broader transition: supporting renewable technologies while continuously pushing to lower the footprint of how we manufacture the components that make them possible.