Engineers For Social Responsibility

Who we are

Engineers for Social Responsibility Inc.

We are an independent group of engineers who consider that being knowledgeable in the field of technology means that they also have a special obligation to the public at large.

About Us
Events
View All
Upcoming event: Insights from a community energy project In this presentation, Stuart Potter will provide first-hand insights arising from the purchase and operation of Heart of England Community Energy, a series of three 5 MW solar energy sites based north of Stratford Upon Avon in the UK. This is one of the largest community solar farms in the UK, made up of around… Find Out More
Video coming soon: Battery management improvement On Wednesday 18th February Godfrey Bridger gave a presentation on development of improved technology for monitoring the health and charge states of chemical-electric batteries. Find Out More
Watch video: Presentation of ESR’s submission on the Second Emissions Reduction Plan Watch a video summary of ESR’s submission to the consultation document “New Zealand’s second emissions reduction plan”, presented by two of its authors, Professor Emeritus Thomas Neitzert and Dr Peter Whitmore. The presentation is followed by a Q&A session and a discussion of next steps. Find Out More

Submissions

From time to time ESR makes submissions to Local Bodies or to Government, on issues of concern. These submissions are listed here and can be accessed for perusal.

View All
Submission in response to the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill 2024 This submission relates to the Crown Minerals Amendment Bill, on which public submissions opened on 26 September 2024. ESR very strongly recommend that the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration not be removed. Instead, we need to be taking very rapid action to reduce our emissions by moving away from the use of fossil… Read more
Submission in Response to New Zealand’s second emissions reduction plan (ERP2) This submission relates to information given in the Ministry for the Environment discussion document regarding the currently proposed second plan to reduce New Zealand’s emissions - New Zealand’s second emissions reduction plan, July 2024 (draft ERP2). It also covers other matters relevant to reducing our emissions. Read more
Submission in response to proposed changes to NZ Emissions Trading Regulations 2024 In this submission the primary points we cover are steps that can be taken to improve the way the ETS operates, so that it becomes a lot more effective and capable of meeting the urgent need to reduce our emissions. The possibility of replacing the current ETS with a simple carbon tax is also covered.… Read more

Position Papers

From time to time ESR prepares Position Papers which state ESR’s viewpoints, with the intention of providing useful guidance on particular topics. Information in this section of the ESR website is presented in good faith, having been checked and reviewed for accuracy and fairness.

View All

Newsletters

We publish a Newsletter from time to time, with news of ESR activities, articles and discussion on topics of interest.

View All
January 2025 CONTENTS - Global CO2 emissions in 2024 - Climate crisis effects on Earth’s water cycle - US homeowners in disaster-prone states face soaring insurance costs - Climate change and geopolitics - EU’s electricity mix in 2024 - Toxic PFAS pollution in UK and Europe - Flatulence tax: Denmark agrees deal for livestock emissions levy -… Read more
November 2024 CONTENTS - Earth’s ‘vital signs’ show humanity’s future in balance, say climate experts - Five main takeaways from the Global Commission on the Economics of Water Report, October 2024 - Extracts from IEA World Energy Outlook 2024 Executive Summary - Extracts from Energy Source & Distribution Magazine, Sep/Oct 2024 - Reducing climate emissions from farm… Read more
September 2024 CONTENTS - A history of the human mind - What is degrowth and can it save the planet? - News items from Reuters Sustainable Switch, August 2024 - Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. - Submission on the second emissions reduction plan consultation, 26/08/2024 - National Land Transport Programme 2024-27 Read more

Climate Fact Sheets

Engineers for Social Responsibility and the Sustainable Energy Forum are concerned about the consequences of human-induced climate change and global warming and the need for widespread understanding of the facts and underlying science. Our combined organisations have prepared a series of discussion sheets and further papers will be published soon. Each paper is peer reviewed by top professionals with specialist knowledge about the topic being described.

View All
New Zealand Energy Security And Climate Change This paper sets out the case for taking early and effective action to improve New Zealand’s energy security, and doing so in a manner which minimises New Zealand’s future greenhouse gas emissions Read more
The Carbon Cycle – Towards Becoming Carbon Neutral Early chemists believed that organic compounds were fundamentally different because they contained a vital force that was only found in living systems. In fact, the common elements in all organic compounds are hydrogen and carbon. Read more
Ethical Issues and Climate Change Human–induced climate change is widely regarded as one of the greatest – if not the greatest – moral challenges of the 21st century. Not merely does it raise numerous ethical issues, but many of these are profoundly difficult and take us to the limits of our moral imagination. Moreover, the ethical dilemmas posed by climate… Read more