GSI Lecture RIA: ‘Why does net zero need geoscience?’
29/01/2026 18:00
29/01/2026 19:30
Royal Irish Academy, 19 Dawson Street, Dublin 2, D02 HH58
RIA
Event Attendance Instructions
Free to attend - Register here
We are please to announce that Karen Hanghøj, Director of the British Geological Survey, will deliver the 2026 Geological Survey Ireland Geoscience Lecture on the topic, ‘Why does Net Zero need Geoscience?’ Co-programmed with the Academy’s Geography and Geosciences Committee, the annual Geological Survey Ireland Lecture brings world-class Irish and international geoscientists to an Ireland-based audience to talk to a variety of important and relevant geoscientific and societal themes.
The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion chaired by Eoin McGrath, Head of the Minerals Programme at Geological Survey Ireland, with additional panellists Marie Cowan (Director Geological Survey Northern Ireland), Pat Meere (University College Cork), and Mike Stock (Trinity College Dublin).
Lecture Abstract
Because everything starts with a rock!
Geoscience is essential in finding solution to many societal challenges such as how to:
use natural resources responsibly and sustainably
manage environmental change
be resilient to environmental hazards
The sustainable use of natural resources is essential for the energy transition and for reaching Net Zero. This presentation will especially focus on the importance of knowledge about minerals and metals in this context.
Renewable energy and mobility technologies create a strong demand for certain raw materials. Potential scarcity and criticality of these materials might negatively impact the energy transition, and the downstream supply chain significantly. Sustainable and responsible sourcing of these metals is thus going to be important at global scale in the decades ahead.