As renewable electricity generation grows and more sectors electrify, the UK needs a bigger and stronger electricity network to transport clean power where it is needed. But what does this unprecedented expansion mean for the communities hosting new grid infrastructure?

In this episode, Matt Hannon and Jen Roberts explore the experiences of people living on the frontline of the UK's electricity grid expansion. How are communities being affected by the construction and disruption associated with new transmission infrastructure? And what challenges and opportunities does this present for the electricity network companies responsible for delivering it?

To discuss these questions, they are joined by Clare Harris, Scotland Lead for the Local Storytelling Exchange, which shines a spotlight on local experiences of the green transition, and David Murray, former Executive Director of Sustainability First, an independent charity and think tank focused on improving environmental, social and economic wellbeing across UK utilities.

Together, they explore how the UK's grid expansion can support both the transition to net zero and positive outcomes for the communities at its heart.

Public attitudes play a crucial role in shaping climate policy—but what can the May 2026 election results tell us about how people really feel about net zero? 

In this episode, Matt and Jen reflect on the outcomes of the UK’s devolved administration and local council elections in May 2026 and explore what they might reveal about public views on sustainability and climate change. Are current approaches to net zero resonating with voters, or is there a need to rethink how climate action is framed and delivered? 

To unpack these questions, they’re joined by Professor Tavis Potts, Professor of Sustainable Development and Environmental Governance at the University of Aberdeen, and Daisy Powell-Chandler, Partner and Head of Energy and Environment Practice at Public First. 

Stick or twist? Why the UK's net-zero strategy is faltering and may need to change 

https://pureportal.strath.ac.uk/en/publications/stick-or-twist-why-the-uks-net-zero-strategy-is-faltering-and-may/fingerprints/ 

environmental, climate change, sustainability, education

New episodes of Local Zero Podcast are on the way!

After a bit of a break, we’re back with fresh conversations—featuring new guests alongside some familiar voices. In the meantime, you can catch up on all past episodes and explore full transcripts on your favourite podcast platform or at www.localzeropod.com.

We’d love to hear from you—drop us a line at [email protected] or contact us on LinkedIn.

Local Zero

After 113 episodes, reaching 35,000 unique listeners, in 150 countries - the award-winning Local Zero podcast is having to say 'bye for now'.

Sadly, we’ve reached a point where continuing to fund production of Local Zero has become a challenge.

We are working hard to identify a way forward, and hope to have a resolution early in 2026, so we can begin publishing new episodes again.

We are extremely proud of all that we’ve achieved so far, and have had tremendous fun along the way.

Particularly, we've loved hearing from people who've got in touch to let us know how listening to the podcast has helped them shape their approach to sustainability and local climate action.

To all our past guests, our listeners, and especially to anyone who has ever got in touch or shared positive reviews - thank you!

All past episodes and transcripts will remain available on podcast platforms - and searchable on the website www.localzeropod.com

If you'd like to get in touch with the team - especially if your organisation has ideas for funding or commissioning episodes of Local Zero or if you have stories to share about the impact of the podcast or of particular episodes - we would love to hear from you. Drop us an email at [email protected], or contact us directly on LinkedIn.

We hope to be back soon. Stay following Local Zero, so that new episodes - when they come - land straight onto your device.

Matt and Fraser explore the UK Co-Benefits Atlas, a new, interactive platform for communicating the co-benefits of reaching net zero across the UK. Co-benefits are the positive changes that could happen as a side-effect of cutting carbon emissions – such as cleaner air, healthier homes, and better diets.

This is the third and final episode in our series focusing on projects funded by the Scottish Research Alliance for Energy Homes and Livelihoods (EHL). Our guests are Dr Andrew Sudmant, Data Programme Manager at the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute and co-lead of the EHL’s “Financial Pathways” theme, and Dr Sean Field, Director of Policy and a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Energy Ethics at the University of St Andrews and Lead Analyst at the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Follow EHL on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/energy-homes-livelihoods/

Sign up to the EHL newsletter: https://energy-homes-livelihoods.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=95f64f8471e335ca66577e8ac&id=8f3acb33ed

Links:

Local Zero homepage: https://www.localzeropod.com/

UK Co-Benefits Atlas: https://ukcobenefitsatlas.net/

Dr Andrew Sudmant: https://www.energy-homes-livelihoods.ac.uk/team-1/andrew-sudmant-2/

Dr Sean Field: https://energyethics.st-andrews.ac.uk/people/sean-field/

Matt and Fraser hit the road to explore the reality of "van life", going beyond the glossy image often presented on social media. To what extent is van dwelling really a choice, and how easy – or otherwise – is it to live sustainably in a vehicle?

This episode is the second in our series focusing on projects funded by the Scottish Research Alliance for Energy Homes and Livelihoods (EHL). Our guest is Dr Louise Reid, Senior Lecturer in Geography and Sustainable Development and Co-Director of the St Andrews Centre for Critical Sustainabilities (StACCS). Along with Dr Rachel Hunt and Dr Rachel Creaney, Louise is part of an EHL-funded project exploring people's lived experiences of van dwelling in Scotland, in an attempt to fill an evidence gap on the topic.

Follow EHL on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/energy-homes-livelihoods/

Sign up to the EHL newsletter: https://energy-homes-livelihoods.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=95f64f8471e335ca66577e8ac&id=8f3acb33ed

Links:

Scottish Research Alliance for Energy Homes and Livelihoods: https://www.energy-homes-livelihoods.ac.uk

Dr Louise Reid: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/geography-sustainable-development/people/lar9

Van Dwelling – An Evidence Mapping Workshop: https://www.energy-homes-livelihoods.ac.uk/2024/08/23/vandwelling-home-is-where-you-park-it-an-evidence-mapping-workshop/

‘They lump us all together’: van-dwellers and homeowners clash over life near Bristol Downs (The Guardian): https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jul/15/van-dwellers-homeowners-clash-life-near-bristol-downs 

Local Zero: https://www.localzeropod.com/

What does it mean to respond to climate change with care? And how might we do a better job of caring for the environment, for each other, and for ourselves?

This episode is the first of a series focusing on projects funded by the Scottish Research Alliance of Energy Homes and Livelihoods (EHL). In it, Jen and Matt talk to Dr Vanicka Arora, Lecturer in Heritage at the University of Stirling, and Dr Arno Verhoeven, Senior Lecturer in Design at the University of Edinburgh and Director for Sustainable Development at Edinburgh College of Art. Vanicka and Arno are both leading EHL-funded seed projects exploring “infrastructures of care” as they relate to climate change and sustainability.

Follow EHL on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/energy-homes-livelihoods/

Sign up to the EHL newsletter: https://energy-homes-livelihoods.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=95f64f8471e335ca66577e8ac&id=8f3acb33ed

Links:

Scottish Research Alliance of Energy Homes and Livelihoods: https://www.energy-homes-livelihoods.ac.uk

Dr Arno Verhoeven: https://www.eca.ed.ac.uk/profile/dr-arno-verhoeven

Dr Vanicka Arora: https://www.stir.ac.uk/people/1852699 

Emerging and Sustaining Infrastructures of Care: https://www.energy-homes-livelihoods.ac.uk/2024/12/02/emerging-and-sustaining-infrastructures-of-care

Culture and Sustainability: Exploring Stability and Transformation with the Cultures Framework (open access book by Janet Stephenson): https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-25515-1

Scottish Wildlife Trust Community Stories – The Isle of Eigg: https://community.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/story/isle-of-eigg

Past Local Zero episodes on related themes:

Episode 24: Retrofit for the future: Jobs, skills and training for zero-carbon homes: https://www.localzeropod.com/episodes/retrofit-for-the-future-jobs-skills-and-training-for-zero-carbon-homes

Episode 69: Whole person, whole place - social relations and energy retrofit: https://www.localzeropod.com/episodes/69-whole-person-whole-place-social-relations-and-energy-retrofit

Episode 110: Adapting our homes and communities to a changing climate: https://www.localzeropod.com/episodes/adapting-our-homes-and-communities-to-a-changing-climate

When it comes to climate change in our homes and neighbourhoods, much of the focus has so far been on mitigation – reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. But with the impacts of climate change increasingly tangible, how can we adapt our buildings and infrastructure – as well as our culture and lifestyles – to make sure they're resilient?

Jen and Matt speak to Chris Carus, co-founder and Executive Officer of Loco Home Retrofit CIC, and Becky McLean, Director of Sustainability at Team Civic. As Chris and Becky explain, adaptation needn't be complicated or expensive – and it can have a huge range of knock-on benefits, too.

Links:

Team Civic: https://www.team-civic.com/

Loco Home Retrofit CIC: https://locohome.coop/

Loco Home CIC YouTube video – CASE STUDY Climate Breakdown in Glasgow – Nithsdale Road: https://youtu.be/ovWMJMc0Tp4 

Loco Home CIC YouTube video – Warmer, Wetter, Wilder: Adapting our Homes and Neighbourhoods to the Impacts of Climate Change: https://youtu.be/FXwsKbpVkH4

The Kelpies: https://www.scottishcanals.co.uk/visit/canals/visit-the-forth-clyde-canal/attractions/the-helix-including-the-kelpies

Past Local Zero episodes on related themes:

Episode 24: Retrofit for the future: Jobs, skills and training for zero-carbon homes

Episode 69: Whole person, whole place – social relations and energy retrofit

Episode 107: Climate change adaptation – a primer

The UK isn't exactly famous for its dry, sunny weather – and yet, water scarcity is an increasingly widespread and urgent problem. Why? And what are the implications – environmental, economic, and cultural?

Jen and Matt explore causes and impacts of water scarcity, with Laura Major, Research Fellow and anthropologist and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, and Ellie Willmott, Principal Hydrologist in the Water Resources Unit at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

Links:

Dr Laura Major – staff profile

Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)

SEPA water scarcity levels tool

Taps Aff project – share your experiences of water scarcity

Drouthy Days: is Scotland prepared for drought? – report from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre

Decentralised Water Technologies project

Some past Local Zero episodes on related themes:

Episode 76: Water, water... everywhere? with Hugo Tagholm

Episode 74: How can our gardens protect the environment? with Kate Bradbury

You can also find links and transcripts to all past episodes at the Local Zero podcast website.

What is good practice for setting up and operating community benefit funds? And how do we make sure communities really do properly benefit from renewable energy (and other) projects?

In this episode, Fraser gets the low-down from Matt and Jen on a new framework from the Strathclyde Institute for Sustainable Communities that explores exactly these questions.

The framework is called "Guiding Principles and Actions for Enhancing Community Benefits from Community Benefit Funds".

Links:

Download the framework itself - Guiding Principles and Actions for Enhancing Community Benefits from Community Benefit Funds.

Some past Local Zero episodes on connecting themes:

Episode 93 – Community benefit funds – what does success look like?

Episode 46 – Community benefit from offshore wind

Episode 68 – Carbon Offsetting For Communities 2 - Framing, evaluating and facilitating community benefit from nature-based carbon offsets

You can also find links and transcripts to all past episodes at the Local Zero podcast website.

Matt and Jen are joined by researcher Dr Emma Yule for a comprehensive primer on climate change adaptation. What is it, and how does it interact with mitigation? What could adaptation look like in practical terms? How do we measure success? What are some of the challenges to effective adaptation – and what kind of benefits could arise from it?

But first, the episode kicks off with Matt and Jen exchanging wildlife sightings and nature observations – some unsettling, some exciting.

Links:

Local Zero podcast: https://www.localzeropod.com/

Dr Emma Yule: https://edinburghcentre.org/team/emma-yule

Progress in adapting to climate change: 2025 report to Parliament: https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/progress-in-adapting-to-climate-change-2025/

Episode 37 – Decarbonising infrastructure: https://www.localzeropod.com/episodes/decarbonising-infrastructure

Scottish National Adaptation Plan 2024-2029: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-national-adaptation-plan-2024-2029-2/

UK Government Third National Adaptation Programme: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/third-national-adaptation-programme-nap3