Syed Ahmed has over 20 years of experience working in the sustainable energy industry with a focus on decentralised energy issues, and the role of cities and climate change. He was worked for a diverse range of organisations from the environmental NGO sector to industry trade associations, and from the Mayor of London to the Department of Energy and Climate Change. In 2012 Syed established Energy for London, an independent research and campaigning organisation to support London’s journey to becoming a Net Zero city.
Syed is a Director of the All Party Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group (PRASEG), a Trustee for the national fuel poverty organisation National Energy Action (NEA), and a Board member of Solar Energy UK. In 2017 he helped establish Community Energy London, where he is currently the Chair, and was also appointed by the Mayor of London as a Commissioner of the London Sustainable Development Commission. Syed was awarded an OBE for his work in 2022.
What has your experience of working with the sustainable energy industry helped you understand differently than a layman?
I think the public now has much greater awareness of the huge shift we are undergoing to the use of renewables to generate electricity to help combat climate change, but they may not fully recognise that we are only at the start of this transition.
As we move to a more modern, efficient and cleaner energy system we will be employing many more technologies, especially in our towns and cities, from rooftop solar, to energy storage, to the use of heat pumps to support the development of a smarter and more flexible electricity system. In addition, this urgency to develop more ‘homegrown’ renewable energy has come under additional focus in the past 18 months as a result of the situation in Ukraine and the impact this has had on energy prices. We need to understand that a greener energy system will also help deliver a more secure and cheaper energy system.
Is the UK equipped to handle the current climate emergency?
The UK has set in place many of the key ‘building blocks’ to help the country respond to the challenge of the climate emergency, from introducing net zero legislation to creating a dedicated department on energy and climate policy. Excellent progress has also been made over the last decade in terms of decarbonising our electricity supplies. However, the pace of delivery in many other key areas remains unambitious, especially the drive to make our homes and workplaces more energy efficient which, at the current pace of delivery, will take several hundred years to complete. Also, much more needs to be done on decarbonising our heating supplies, adapting our environment to the impacts of climate change and supporting local authority action on reducing emissions.
What can we as a community do to make sure we create a sustainable future for our offspring and their future generations to survive the climate crisis?
Many communities are already taking action to help reduce their climate impact.
We are seeing hundreds of groups across the country install solar panels on their schools, community centres and places of worship, as well as introducing programmes ranging from the provision of energy efficiency advice to households to delivering new green spaces or promoting alternatives to the use of cars.
In London, the Mayor and an increasing number of boroughs are responding to the passion and drive that many communities have in wanting to see their neighbourhoods become greener and are providing support and funding to local initiatives. We need to see much more of this collaboration between communities and policymakers to help unlock the full potential of local action. As individuals, we can champion local projects to our councils, volunteer with local groups or promote them to family and friends. And also invest in these projects when crowdfunding opportunities arise.