Net Zero in Peril? The case for a new ‘low carbon social contract’ in the UK
Join us for a timely talk on why net zero must deliver lower costs and fairer lives. With Josh Ryan-Collins and Donal Brown, we explore a bold low-carbon social contract that can work for all.
Net Zero in Peril? The case for a new ‘low carbon social contract’ in the UK
24 Feb 2026, 17:30 – 19:00
This event is organised by the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (UCL IIPP). Explore more IIPP events here.
About this talk:
Net Zero represents an opportunity to regenerate our communities; reduce energy, housing, and transport costs; and build social cohesion and greater prosperity. However, most people in the UK have felt their living standards worsen for over a decade. Far right parties are capitalising on this discontent, and are blaming decarbonisation and broader progressive agendas for this malaise. The mainstream low carbon policy regime is failing to address the material concerns of low- and middle-income communities, through an over reliance on private ownership, market mechanisms, and individual choice as the driver of change. I will argue that, without a course correction, net-zero, and the decarbonisation agenda is in existential peril in western nations like the UK. This new strategy must overcome shibboleths surrounding public and community ownership, and introduce progressive universalist principles in the provision of energy, housing and transport - a new ‘low carbon social contract’. Implementing this strategy will require a radical departure from the macro-economic and fiscal consensus which has prevailed in the UK since the late 1970s.
Meet the panel:
- Chair: Josh Ryan-Collins, Professor in Economics and Finance at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
- Donal Brown, Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
Professor in Economics and Finance
UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)Josh Ryan-Collins is an economist specialising in macroeconomic and financial policy, housing, land, and sustainable finance, with a focus on how macrofinancial policy shapes housing markets and the green transition. He has advised the UK government and central banks, authored influential books on money and housing, previously worked at the New Economics Foundation, and now teaches and leads doctoral programmes at UCL.
Dr Donal Brown is a leading expert on decarbonisation, green industrial policy, and home energy retrofit. A UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, he researches the political economy of Net Zero, chairs key retrofit bodies, advises governments, and has led major UK and EU-funded research projects supporting the green transition.
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