Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has today set out his new approach to Net Zero in a speech given at No 10 Downing Street. The speech included a commitment to create a new £150m Green Future Fellowship programme to support scientists and engineers to develop real, breakthrough green technologies.
Commenting on the speech, Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says:
"There remains a closing window of opportunity for the UK to decarbonise our economy and to lead the global effort to enable a more sustainable way of life. This will require a transformation of our energy and transport systems, the way we build, maintain and renew our buildings, and changes to the way we live. Such a change can be hugely beneficial to the UK but can only come about through a partnership between the worlds of industry, finance, academia and government. Government will need to provide policy stability that transcends electoral cycles and administrations if business is to plan with confidence and play its full role.
"The Academy exists to bring engineering expertise to the most pressing global challenges through rigorous engineering system thinking and fostering innovation. The Academy has been asked to lead the Green Future Fellowship announced today, which will fund at least 10 fellows a year over five years to run climate innovation programmes of up to 10 years in length. The Fellowships will support research at all stages of development, from initial discovery research to proof of concept and application, helping brilliant mid-career engineers and innovators at the cutting edge of climate research drive their ideas through to real-world impact and commercial success.
"With less than 1,400 weeks until 2050 there is no time to spare in applying all the available low carbon technologies at our disposal to meet our legally binding emission reduction targets. The Green Future Fellowship endowment will develop the vital engineering expertise necessary to scale up, integrate and deliver these technologies to achieve a just and well managed transition to a low-carbon economy."
