Addressing climate change is a major challenge of the 21st century, with the UK aiming to achieve net zero by 2050. In January 2020, the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC) began a programme of work to explore, inform, and advise policymakers on some of the hardest cross-cutting challenges and the opportunities that need to be addressed. Since its inception, the project has explored three key areas where engineers can contribute key insights to achieving net zero:

• applying engineering principles to decision making
• applying a systems approach to achieving net zero across whole sectors
• providing technical engineering insight on the role of individual technologies.

Many of the NEPC policy reports and documents contain significant contributions from IChemE and its members, demonstrating the immense value of collaborative working.