Hilary Term 2021
Week 1: China’s Climate Policy
Wednesday 20th January 2021 5:30pm
Venue: Online.
Dr. Fan Dai, Director of the California-China Climate Institute. Dr. Fan Dai is the director of California-China Climate Institute, an initiative by former California Governor Jerry Brown in partnership with Xie Zhenhua, China’s Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs. She previously served as special advisor on China to Governor Brown, where she chaired the state’s China Interagency Working Group and acted as the state’s liaison on its critical climate and environment initiatives with China. The recent pledge by China in September 2020 on carbon neutrality by 2060 was a surprising one, yet crucial for the world to achieve its Paris targets. More than that, the upcoming 5-year plan for the period of 2021 to 2025 will be crucial in fleshing out the tangible policies to put china on the necessary trajectory. In this talk, Dr. Dai will talk about 1. Climate action and plans at sub-national levels 2. Key sectors for carbon neutrality by 2060 and 3. What is likely to be in the 14th Five-Year Plan.
Week 2: Technology Enabling Decarbonisation
Wednesday 27th January 2021 5:30pm
Venue: Online.
Devrim Celal, CEO Upside Energy
Week 3: The role of Blue Hydrogen and CCS for the pathway to net-zero emissions
Wednesday 3rd February 2021 5:30pm
Venue: online
Al Cook, Executive Vice President (Global Strategy and Business Development), Equinor
Week 4: Nuclear Fusion Technology (Culham Centre for Fusion Energy)
Wednesday 10th February 2021 5:30pm
Venue: online
Manufacturing Realisation Section Leader at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. Oxford Alumna (DPhil Physics)
Week 5: Energy SocieTEA
Monday 15th February 2021 5:30pm
Venue: online
Kahoot quiz online with Oxford Tea Appreciation Society. Expect questions relating to Energy and Tea. All are welcome, except 5th Week Blues.
Week 5: Delivering A Net Zero Energy System
Wednesday 17th February 2021 5:30pm
Venue: online
Matthew Knight, Head of Business Development, Siemens
Week 6: Investor’s Perspective on Clean Energy Financing
Wednesday 24th February 2021 5:30pm
Venue: online
Peter Dickson, Founding Partner, Glennmont Partners
Week 6: BINGO with GeogSoc
Thursday 25th February 2021 5:30pm
Venue: online
Help us beat the Geography society at Bingo!
Week 6: Fraser Armstrong
tbc
Venue: online
Talk with OUCB
Week 7: Afry Talk
Wednesday 3rd March 2021 5:30pm
Venue: online
Week 8: Bacteria, Biowires and Bio-Batteries
Wednesday 10th March 2021 5:30pm
Venue: online
Julea Butt, Professor of Biophysical Chemistry at University of East Anglia
Bacteria are inspirational materials. Assembled from abundant resources under ambient conditions they self-repair, harness energy from sunlight, and synthesize numerous molecules from sustainable precursors. Some bacteria have an additional fascinating property, they are able to exchange electrons with external electrodes. This fusion of microbiology and electronics offers exciting prospects for the clean production of energy and chemicals. Biomolecular wires, proteins capable of conducting electrons across bacterial cell walls and extracellular space, underpin the electrical interfacing of bacteria with electrodes. In multi-disciplinary research, Prof Julea Butt of the University of East Anglia, Norwich, is revealing the molecular basis of electron transfer through biomolecular wires. In this talk Julea will review some of her group’s latest findings in the context of opportunities to advance electromicrobiology.