Loughborough researcher shares expertise ahead of UN SDG Summit

A Loughborough University researcher has shared his expertise at a high-profile United Nations event in New York.

Professor Ed Brown, Research Director of the Loughborough-led Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) programme and Deputy Director of the Climate Compatible Growth programme, joined a consortium of leading voices to discuss potential solutions to tackle the lack of clean, sustainable household energy for cooking around the globe.

The high-level side event formed part of the United Nations' SDG Action Weekend, held ahead of the 2023 SDG Summit on 18 - 19 September. It brought together leading experts and influential policymakers to outline specific commitments and contributions to advancing progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Currently, over a third of the world's population still rely on traditional solid fuels - such as charcoal or wood - for cooking, which carries significant health risks and accounts for around 2% of the world’s total CO2 emissions.

Professor Brown contributed to discussions that explored the intricacies of implementing a 'global roadmap' to guide the transition to universal access to clean cooking - with the overall aim of achieving net-zero CO2 emissions from cooking by 2050.

Professor Brown’s involvement further highlights Loughborough’s position as a global leader in research and commitment to affordable and clean energy. Earlier this year, the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings placed Loughborough University first in the UK and 15th globally for advancing Affordable and Clean Energy – the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7.

The MECS programme – which is led by the Sustainable Transitions: Energy, Environment and Resilience Centre (STEER) within the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at Loughborough - aims to accelerate access to clean, electric cooking on a global scale.

MECS have recently worked with industry partners to form the Global Electric Cooking Coalition (GeCCo), which brings together experts and advocates from across the world to address the need to reduce carbon outputs generated by traditional cooking methods.

A recording of Professor Brown speaking at the event can be found on the MECS website.