Speaking to the West Midlands Business Council today, Energy and Climate Change Minister, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath expressed his admiration for the positive way West Midlands’ business had faced the challenges of the recession. He pledged that the Government would continue to do everything it could to insure a reliable, cost effective energy supply for business:
“We recognise the importance of secure, reliable and affordable energy supplies for business, particularly in these tough economic times. The recent fall in energy prices is good news for business and we are looking at making sure that businesses, large and small can feel the benefits of that and get secure energy contracts in place for the future.”
He also talked about the opportunities the growing low carbon sector is already providing in the West Midlands:
“The West Midlands is already taking on the challenge of climate change. It’s low carbon sector accounts for some £8.4 billion of the region’s economy, comprising 4,179 companies with around 74,000 employees. Despite the economic downturn the sector is expected to grow by around 4% in the next year and employment in green industries by up to 45% to 2015.”
“The UK’s Low Carbon Transition Plan puts in place a roadmap to build on this strong foundation to put us in a prime position to take advantage of these opportunities. I have no doubt that the West Midlands, as a hub for Advanced Green Manufacture, innovation and transport, will play a key role.”
Notes to Editors:
- An example of the ground breaking work in the West Midlands is the £80 million Low-carbon Vehicles Programme. This innovative programme supports West Midlands automotive companies to conduct further research and development into low carbon vehicle technologies. Advantage West Midlands has contributed £30 Million and with additional support from Jaguar Land Rover (JLR),this will create a Low Carbon Vehicle Development and Proving Centre which will link high tech research with manufacturing. It will have a particular emphasis in developing new drive trains and lightweight structures and will link up with similar programmes elsewhere in the UK.
- The UK Climate Projections published last month show that if we don’t take action by 2080 the temperature for the hottest day of the year in the West Midlands could increase by a scorching 10 degrees C by 2080 and even by 2040 there could be 11 per cent less rainfall in the summer leading to subsidence, lower crop yields and water stress.
DECC Press Release
Reference: 2009/098