The recent European Construction Institute Webinar on Net Zero was a great chance to discuss the very significant opportunities presented by decarbonisation of the industrial and energy sectors.
Jenny Young from ECITB and Prof Mercedes Maroto-Valer from IDRIC the UK Industrial Decarbonisation Research & Innovation Centre provided insight into the work their respective organisations are doing to drive forward this important agenda.
The discussion was very timely in the context of the recently published UK Government’s the 10-point plan for Green Industrial Revolution. One of its key points is to drive carbon capture with an extra £200 million of new funding and target to remove 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030.
The presentations considered how new technologies can meet the established environmental targets and bring the UK to the forefront of the global movement against climate change and global warming.
There was much discussion around:
- The necessity to align business, technology, policy and regulatory requirements and environmental models
- The importance of the forthcoming carbon budget, which is planned to be announced in December 2020
- The significant potential of skills from carbon intensive industries to redeployed in the deliver of low carbon technologies at scale.
2021 will be a crucial year in exploring the role that the Engineering Construction sector can play in developing and deploying new technologies and innovative approaches at scale. As we move towards COP26 (26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties ), which will take place in Glasgow, UK in November 2021 there is significant opportunity for ECI and Constructing Excellence members to explore these significant opportunities.
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