Welcome to the central hub for news on how the Government is working to deliver the transition to a low carbon future. This website provides up-to-date news from across Government on the action it is taking to put the UK onto a permanent low carbon footing, whilst simultaneously securing maximum economic benefit.
Although comments on the Low Carbon Industrial Strategy: A Vision are now closed, you can still read about the vision and view the comments made.
The Midlands has been named the UK’s latest Low Carbon Economic Area (LCEA), with Secretary of State for Business Lord Mandelson announcing £19m to make the region a leader in low carbon vehicle research and development.
The region has been designated a Low Carbon Economic Area for Automotive Engineering, which is being led by Advantage West Midlands (AWM) and East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA). [click to continue…]
The Crown Estate, owner of the UK’s coastal seabed, has granted rights to energy companies that could see an additional 6,400 wind turbines generating 32GW from new sites off the UK coast.
The Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Climate Secretary Ed Miliband met The Crown Estate today to announce the deal, which will open up rights to 9 new coastal zones.
The offshore wind industry is worth more than £75bn and could support up to 70,00 cleantech jobs by 2020.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change DECC) and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) also announced grants to support construction of new wind turbine manufacturing facilities in Fife and Teeside.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said:
“Our policies in support of offshore wind energy have already put us ahead of every other country in the world. This new round of licences provides a substantial new platform for investing in UK industrial capacity.”
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said:
“Our island has one of the best wind energy resources in Europe and today’s news shows that there’s a huge appetite for capacity to be built here. We now need to make sure we’re poised to harness the potential that appetite brings for business for UK companies and new green jobs. We did it before with oil and gas in the North Sea and we’ll do it again for offshore wind.”
Lord Drayson, Minister for Science & Innovation, said:
“These grants are part of a package of support to ensure the UK – and UK manufacturing in particular – benefits from the innovative market we are creating. The turbines we need have not been designed yet. Our goal is to encourage their design and manufacture on our shores.”
Read the full DECC press notice here.
Pre Budget Report 2009 allocates £50m for wind energy
BMW has provided an all electric, zero emissions MINI E for the Government car pool.
The vehicle was officially handed over to the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers at an event at Number 10 today.
It follows a handover of 40 identical MINI E’s to members of the public, who will trial the cars for one year.
The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said:
“The low carbon transport industry will not only cut harmful emissions but has the potential to be a major source of jobs and growth. We have already committed £400 million of support to the sector, encouraging its development and take-up, and I am confident that in future years we will see thousands more electric and other low carbon cars on Britain’s roads.”
Read the BMW press notice here.
For more images, see the Number 10 Flickr album here.
The 2009 Pre Budget Report contained several new announcements to strengthen the UK’s low carbon economy.
SIF Investment
An additional £200m has been allocated for the Government’s Strategic Investment Fund (SIF), which emerging technologies across the UK are using to strengthen their capacity for innovation, job creation and growth. The total SIF investment now stands at £950. Around £150m is for low carbon initiatives. These include:
The 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) is taking place over the next two weeks, 7-18 December, in Copenhagen.
Act on Copenhagen is the official UK government website for activities around Copenhagen. The site features:
Below is a taster from the Act on Cophenhagen site – a timeline showing key events en route to the summit.
You can also follow DECC’s Twitter feed for regular updates during the conference. Other resources include:
Coventry-based electric van maker Modec will form a joint venture with US firm Navistar to build electric trucks for North and South American markets.
Modec is the first company in the world to design and build an electric vehicle from the ground up rather than bolting an electric powertrain onto an existing vehicle.
Earlier this year Modec received a £4m government loan from Advantage West Midlands to support its business plan.
Business Minister Pat McFadden said:
“Companies like Modec are key to the Government’s vision for low carbon manufacturing and helping the UK automotive industry manage the transition from conventional to electric drive technologies. It’s essential that UK companies are at the forefront of these technologies today in order to secure the jobs of tomorrow. Coventry-based UK company designing and building electric commercial vehicles
Press notice
Read the BIS press notice here
Links
Modec: Coventry-based UK company designing and building electric commercial vehicles
Navistar: US-based truck manufacturer
Advantage West Midlands: Regional development agency (RDA) for the West Midlands, sponsored by BIS
Lord Mandelson has today announced a package of measures to support the UK’s civil nuclear industry.
It designates the North West and Yorkshire as a Nuclear Low carbon Economic Area (LCEA), led by the NWDA in collaboration with Yorkshire Forward.
As part of the Nuclear LCEA the North West will support the Manufacturing Advisory Service’s (MAS) nuclear services as part of the Nuclear LCEA, offering manufacturing companies advice and support to access the nuclear energy market. For more information on MAS nuclear services, see the Manufacturing Advisory Service website.
Other measures include a new Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and an additional £8m to upgrade University of Manchester’s nuclear laboratories. For more information on how the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC) is building and enhancing the UK civil nuclear industry, see the NAMRC website.
For full details of the announcements, see the Advanced Manufacturing website here.
The UK will need to reshape its economy to take advantage of the opportunities offered by low carbon travel, Business Minister Ian Lucas said during a speech at the Sustainability Summit in Berlin on 2 December 2009.
He outlined the key areas the UK Government is concentrating on in order to have a world leading capability in low carbon travel, including:
Mr Lucas said:
“The UK is keen to help lead the way in low carbon. We have an estimated 50,000 companies employing 880,000 people in the UK in the low carbon market. But to fully realise our potential in a sector already worth around £3 trillion worldwide we realised we needed to do more to reshape our economy and prepare for this low carbon revolution.”
Speech
Read the full speech here.
Business Minister Ian Lucas had a taste of the future of motoring in the UK when he was one of the first people to get the chance to drive GM’s new electric car today (1 December).
Driving the Ampera around GM’s testing facilities at Millbrook, Ian Lucas got a chance to experience the motoring power that the next generation of electric vehicles is delivering.
Quote
Business Minister Ian Lucas said:
“Driving the new electric Ampera was a great experience, and one I hope will soon become a part of every day life for consumers in the UK not just a test track moment. Despite the challenges the auto sector in currently experiencing, investment in new low carbon products like the Ampera is vital to compete for future consumer demands.
Press notice
Read the BIS press notice here.
Images
For photos, see the Flickr page here.
Can You Afford Not To? Business case published
As part of the Low Carbon Industrial Strategy, working alongside Tomorrow’s Company and other businesses, Government has published the business case for action on low carbon and resource efficiency: Can You Afford Not to? (PDF, 471KB).
Read more on the Business Success in the Low Carbon Economy.
Film: Low Carbon, High Potential
A new film aimed at encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises to seize the opportunities presented by addressing climate change has also been launched this week – Low Carbon, High Potential. Five leading UK businesses talk about the opportunities of presented by the transition to a low carbon economy.
