Exclusive: Yorkshire research centre will lead the low-carbon revolution

A REGIONAL centre aiming to put Yorkshire at the heart of a global revolution in green industry was launched in Westminster last night by leading environmental experts and politicians from across the region.

Top academics from Leeds, Sheffield, York and Hull universities have joined forces with regional development agency Yorkshire Forward to create a pioneering climate change research centre designed to develop the new technologies and research projects needed for a low carbon economy.

Scientists at the new Centre for Low Carbon Futures plan to work closely with businesses from across the region to develop cutting-edge green technologies with real-world uses to ensure local industry is not left behind as the world moves to a low carbon economy.

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It is the latest in a series of ground-breaking schemes guided by Yorkshire Forward as it aims to reposition the region – currently the second-biggest emitter of carbon dioxide in Europe – as a world leader in climate change technology.

Centre director Jon Price said: "We're looking to harness the firepower of academics around the region and take the technology through to practical usage. We want to make Yorkshire and Humberside a centre of low carbon.

"Given that Yorkshire is responsible for 20 per cent of the UK's carbon emissions, it's imperative Yorkshire does something about carbon – if it doesn't, it will be left behind and all the jobs currently based in heavy industries will just go.

"And if we're going to transform the region into a low carbon economy, we need to go about it now. The best way of doing that is getting together with academics and businesses and looking at it on a practical level."

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Backed with 6m funding from Yorkshire Forward, the centre has already chosen its first projects for the coming years.

One will aim to develop more sustainable fuels and chemicals. Another will look at more efficient ways of capturing carbon dioxide before it is released into the atmosphere – a crucial technology of the future for all heavy industries.

A third will look at the likely economic impact of climate change on the region and how it will affect people living and working here.

Julian White is chief executive of the White Rose University Consortium, a "strategic alliance" between Leeds, Sheffield and York universities, and has been developing the concept of a low carbon centre for almost three years.

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He said: "It's important we don't just undertake research activity but we look at where this has got an impact on communities, and has a relevance to businesses."

"For example, the work we're doing on economic resilience is relevant to all industries and all communities in understanding the economic drivers and impacts of climate change on them.

"The unique aspect of the centre is bringing together different disciplines – we've got environmental scientists, social scientists, who are actually working on problems where their individual knowledge is needed."

Yorkshire Forward chief executive Tom Riordan highlighted the important role that regions such as Yorkshire must play in leading low carbon industries so developing countries will follow.

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"What we're talking about today is really, really important in making this happen," he said. "Yorkshire and Humberside caused this problem – we are responsible for many of the emissions up there in the atmosphere that are going to cause climate change and we have a responsibility to tackle it.

"So we want to be world leaders, and I think we are on the verge of starting to do that. We've had the announcement at Hatfield of what will become the biggest carbon capture plant in the world by 2015. We've also just had the announcement last week about the huge offshore windfarm at Hornsea.

"Those two projects alone will lead to thousands of new jobs. The next piece in the jigsaw is this centre."

The new centre was formally launched in Westminster by Hull East MP John Prescott.