Abstract
Given the significance of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) taking place in Glasgow this year, the Supergen (Sustainable Power Generation and Supply) programme identified COP26 as a crucial opportunity to connect UK energy research to wider climate change, net zero and renewable agendas. The six Supergen Hubs collaborated to deliver the Net Zero Conference (NZC) from 1-3 September 2021, demonstrating the impact of UK energy research in achieving net zero, setting out a vision for a net zero energy future and exploring cross-cutting themes such as internationalisation, industrial partnerships and equality, diversity and inclusion. The NZC opened with the Early Career Researcher (ECR) Forum organised by a cross-Hub group of ECRs, focusing on three overarching topics of greening the economy and society, the future of sustainable transport and securing a global transition to clean energy. This briefing paper summarises the outcomes of the flash talk presentations and discussions presented during the ECR Forum and puts forward the current thinking on challenges and opportunities in achieving net zero, from the perspective of ECRs working within energy research.