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Pearson: UK engineers must seize opportunity to lead the world on climate change technology

18 September 2007

Today the Minister for Science and Innovation, Ian Pearson challenged the next generation of engineers to lead the world in developing environmentally friendly technologies to combat climate change.

Addressing industry representatives attending a Global Sustainability forum at Imperial College, Mr Pearson said that tackling climate change and the effects of population growth could generate at least £700 billion globally by 2015. This is an opportunity that British engineers should capitalise on, while helping mitigate the most damaging features of climate change, which is expected to see global temperatures rise by up to 6.4 degrees, and sea levels rise between 20 and 60cm by the end of this century.

Mr Pearson said:

In the UK there are over 17,000 companies that are already focusing on the environment. I expect the value of this £25 billion industry to more than double within the next ten years, with employment growing by at least 100,000 over the same period.

Major names like Unilever, Ford and BMW are all moving to more sustainable means of production. The sustainable companies of tomorrow will need engineers that can help them find ethical, environmentally sound solutions to the even tougher challenges to come.

Mr Pearson called on employers to engage closely with Sector Skills Councils, including the Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies Alliance (SEMTA) to ensure UK engineering has the highly skilled workforce it will need to successfully compete. Through working closely with business, Sector Skills Councils will provide detailed analysis of future engineering skills requirements, ensure that the future supply of skills and qualifications is driven by what employers need and work to raise employer investment in skills at all levels.

Notes to Editors

  1. Mr Pearson was addressing Global Sustainability: the future for engineering education, a one-day conference for leading fugures from industry and academia at Imperial College, London.
  2. The UK science budget has doubled since 1997, standing at around £3.5 billion a year.
  3. To date, the Technology Strategy Board has worked with business to fund over 600 projects worth £900million in areas such as environmentally friendly transport.
  4. The Energy Technologies Institute - a new partnership with some of the world's biggest energy companies, will play a major role in international technology developments that support the UK's climate change goals and a new Environmental Transformation fund will support renewable energy, biofuels and low carbon technologies.
  5. The Speech