Business leaders and politicians gather at ‘Energy and Clean Growth in the Northern Powerhouse’ event

The Leeds City Region will showcase how it is working to be a net zero carbon economy by 2038 at the latest at the first event of its kind to explore opportunities across Northern England.

28 October 2019

Hydrogen-powered transport and creating renewable energy from mine water are just some of the ideas that will be explored when business leaders, politicians and academics gather for a major two-day energy event. 

The Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (the LEP) will be at the first ever Energy and Clean Growth in the Northern Powerhouse conference which takes place next Tuesday and Wednesday (November 5 and 6) at Hull’s Bonus Arena. 

The LEP and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority are working with their partners to ensure Leeds City Region is a net zero carbon economy by 2038 at the latest, with significant progress to be made by 2030.  

The event has been organised by the NP11 – the influential group of 11 Local Enterprise Partnerships in the Northern Powerhouse – in conjunction with the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. 

 

Roger Marsh OBE, Chair of the LEP and Chair of the NP11, said: “We have a unique opportunity across the North to unlock the economic opportunities that de-carbonising our economy will bring and embrace the new technologies that will drive our future growth.  

“This is a priority area for the NP11 and we’re looking forward to working in partnership across the North to achieve our shared goals.” 

Representatives from the LEP and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority will be showcasing some of the unique projects pioneered by the Leeds City Region such as the Energy Accelerator – the first project of its kind in the UK which designed to help low carbon and energy efficient projects become a reality where they may otherwise not have been completed due to a lack of capacity, expertise and funding. 

The event will also provide the LEP with a platform to explore new innovations and technologies which will help the Leeds City Region realise its net zero carbon ambitions.  

 

Lord Christopher Haskins, Chair of the Humber LEP, said: We are incredibly proud to be hosting this first-of-its-kind event, which is a fantastic opportunity to show the wider world what we have on offer across the North of England.  

“It is a great chance to debate challenges, reflect on successes and consider how to maximise our future opportunities. We are particularly pleased to be working alongside other Northern LEPs, illustrating that by co-operating rather than competing with each other, we can become a world leading region in energy and clean growth.” 

For more information about what the Combined Authority is doing about the climate emergency visit www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/clean-growth or visit to www.the-lep.com to find out about support available for businesses from the LEP.