As a signatory to the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement, and in a June 2019 Amendment to the Climate Change Act, the UK has committed to an ambitious transformation of its economy and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. However, carbon-based fuels and platform chemicals will remain important to the economy. Carbon capture and storage could support this industrial need whilst reducing the UK's carbon emissions.

Research champion

Niall Mac Dowell

Professor Niall Mac Dowell is a Reader in Energy Systems in the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London. His research is focused on understanding the transition to a low carbon economy, and he is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of both the IChemE and the Royal Society of Chemistry. 

Niall has more than a decade’s experience as a consultant to the public and private sectors. He has worked with a range of private sector energy companies, and has provided evidence to members of the Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change and has given advice to DECC/BEIS, the IEA, the IEAGHG, the ETI and the JRC. Niall is a member of TotalEnergies' Scientific Advisory Board, the Norwegian CCS Research Centre (NCCS), and the journal Joule. Niall was awarded the Qatar Petroleum Prize for his PhD research in 2010 and the IChemE’s Nicklin and Junior Moulton medals for his work on low carbon energy in 2015 and 2021, respectively.