The Prime Minister has been called upon to put the Humber first when it comes to the race to Net Zero.
Chair of the Hull and East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, James Newman OBE, told more than 100 delegates at a COP26-affiliated event that the region is “a significant example of what a perfect storm could look like if we fail to achieve Net Zero”.
It came as he discussed the significant factors that the Humber must tackle if it is to reach both Net Zero and weather the effects of climate change.
Read more: East Coast Cluster named as government forerunner in carbon capture deployment
The event was merged with The Waterline Summit – a showcase week for the decarbonisation agenda being led on the Energy Estuary.
He said: “If the Prime Minister is serious about his three economic and social goals for the UK, then can he please, please start taking the Humber seriously. If you want to start making inroads into these goals – instead of just talking about them – then where else would you be able to level-up, promote and facilitate global Britain and score some early net zero wins, all at the same time, and in the same place?
“That place is the Humber. The Prime Minister needs to invest where he will get the most value for money and at scale.”
The Humber is the heaviest polluting industrial cluster in the UK, and Hull is one of the five global cities most exposed to rising sea levels.
Battle bus leaders, from left, James Newman OBE, chair of Hull and East Yorkshire LEP; Cllr Jonathan Owen, leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council; Cllr Daren Hale, leader of Hull City Council; Jonathan Withey, head of business development at Planet Mark and Elizabeth Assmann, Zero Carbon Tour manager for Planet Mark. (Image: HEY LEP)“It is the start of a 15-20 year journey,” he said. “The Government needs to start somewhere – and I would hope that it would start here, in the Humber. To use a Formula One analogy – the Humber is in pole position. All we’re waiting for now is the lights to go green.”
Track one status for the huge East Coast Cluster carbon capture and storage project that takes in Zero Carbon Humber – the emission transporting and hydrogen distributing proposal – was a key step, and welcomed.
HEY on the Road to Net Zero was a flagship event as part of the national Zero Carbon Tour, with an electric battle bus parked outside venue Hull City Hall for the duration.
Mr Newman had launched the week alongside Marketing Humber chair Bill Walker, with the Eyes on the Humber cinematic video screening, leading on to a high level panel debate about what COP26 needs to deliver.
It is being taken to the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow by regional exhibitors as world leaders gather.
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