A bid to put the North East at the front of efforts to reach net zero has officially launched.
The Net Zero North East England group brings together local government, business, education, the public sector and civil society, and is designed to provide a joined-up and immediate regional response to the climate emergency. Its work will use the region’s existing green knowledge and assets to encourage changes that will enable the North East to not only reach but surpass net zero targets and be used as an exemplar on a national and sectoral stage.
As well as trying to accelerate decarbonisation efforts in the region, the initiative is hoping to bring economic benefits through the creation of well-paying jobs in green industries.
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The region has been at the forefront of the green transition through the production of electric cars at the Nissan plant in Sunderland, and attracting companies working on offshore wind farms to the Port of Tyne and the Port of Blyth. The North East devolution deal local leaders are hoping to sign with the Government contains a number of elements linked to the net zero agenda.
Heidi Mottram, chair of Net Zero North East England said: “It’s a privilege to be leading a collaborative response from regional leaders all deeply committed to addressing the climate emergency.
“The region is already home to significant, sector-leading decarbonisation activity such as in water innovation and green energy for growth, and we should rightly promote and celebrate this. By bringing these approaches and the areas in which we excel together, we can showcase best practice and find new partnership solutions to the challenges that remain.”
North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll said: “Today we are launching Net Zero North East England. This is a coalition of everybody across our region who’s taking the climate emergency seriously - the public sector, our local authorities, the health service, our businesses large and small, our community groups.
“We know this is urgent but there’s a way to do this which brings everybody together - that creates good green jobs, that lowers energy bills, that makes us all healthier in the future. That’s what we’re after, it’s just the start and there’s a lot of work to do, but what a way to get going.
Sunderland Council leader and chair of the North East Combined Authority, Graeme Miller, said: “Net Zero North East England is a powerful, shared vehicle for meeting our decarbonisation goals and leading the way in sustainable energy. In the months ahead we will be establishing, adopting and publishing clear and ambitious targets that can be monitored and evaluated, as well as aligning key regional strategies and programmes in support of our vision.
“Thanks to its natural geography and existing clean energy strengths the North East is extremely well placed for use as a test bed for pioneering new approaches, attracting funding and placing the region at the forefront of the UK’s much-needed decarbonisation journey. We look forward to engaging with government to make this happen.”
Earlier this year, a report warned that up to 80,000 jobs could be created in the drive to decarbonise homes and help the region meet net zero targets, but training people to fill those roles will be a major challenge.
The study commissioned by the North East LEP and funded by the North East and Yorkshire (NEY) Net Zero Hub found that “there is a need to transition from the current employment of 1,000 full-time equivalent workers to 80,000 if we are to achieve net zero by 2030”. But the report warned that “the scale of the challenge is monumental” and new workers would need to come from a range of groups.
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