2024-09-24
28 分钟As the famous frog once said, it's not easy being green. And when it comes to decarbonising industry, indeed, reducing emissions of all sorts, the task is a complex one. Fossil fuels are used to manufacture some of mankind’s most ubiquitous products, from plastics to cement to steel; and even in areas where we’re trying to improve our footprint, there are repercussions. Mining lithium for electric car batteries isn’t exactly without impact. Add to the mix stories of corporations prioritising profits, and governments focusing on short-term popular policies – and it would be easy to feel disheartened. Professor Anna Korre says her role is to be the champion of science in this debate: providing clear evidence to help reduce environmental impacts, while allowing vital production processes to continue. Anna is an environmental engineer at Imperial College London and Co-Director of the university’s Energy Futures Lab. Her work has led to a risk model that's now used in mining operations around the world – and her current research into sub-surface CO2 storage could hold the key to decarbonising British industry. But as she tells Jim Al-Khalili, social and familial expectations when she was growing up in her native Greece meant her succesful career in engineering very nearly didn't happen... Presented by Jim Al-Khalili Producer by Lucy Taylor
BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts hello and welcome to the podcast edition of the Life Scientific.
I'm Jamal Khalili and this is the show where I get to talk with some of the world's leading scientists and you get to find out what drives them.
So sit back, get comfortable and enjoy the episode.
Plenty of us mull over how we can be more green in our daily lives.
Recycling and creating less waste, maybe getting an electric car, traveling less by plane, transitioning to renewable energy in our homes.
When it comes to industry decarbonisation, indeed, reducing emissions of all sorts gets more complicated.
Fossil fuels are used to manufacture some of mankind's most ubiquitous products, from plastics to cement to steel, and creating them comes with an environmental price tag.
The bad news is that even in areas where we're trying to improve our footprint, there are repercussions.
Mining lithium for electric car batteries isn't exactly without impact.
Add to that stories of corporations prioritizing profits and governments focusing on short term people pleasing policies and it will be easy to feel disheartened.
But my guest today says her role is to be the champion of science in this debate, providing clear evidence to help reduce environmental impacts while allowing vital production processes to continue.
Anna Coray is an environmental engineer at Imperial College London, where she's co director of the university's Energy Futures Lab.
Her work led to the development of a risk model used in mining operations around the world.
And her current research into subsurface CO2 storage could hold the key to decarbonizing British industry.
It's incredible to think that as a youngster, expectations were that she would settle and remain in her home city of Athens rather than pursuing her research passion.
Something that very nearly came to pass.
More on that shortly.
For now, Professor Anna Corre, welcome to the Life Scientific.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.