Net zero transitions
Updates from the wider world of net zero
Innovate UK Connections
Local net zero hubs
Making net zero projects happen
Launched by DESNZ in 2018, the Local Net Zero Hubs drive net zero projects from concept to completion, empowering local authorities, public sector bodies, and community groups in England to attract commercial investment and achieve sustainability.
The Hubs’ objectives are to:
- Increase the number, quality, and scale of local net zero projects.
- Enable local areas to attract private or public finance for decarbonisation projects.
- Raise awareness of the opportunity for, and benefits of, local investment.
- Support regional co-ordination and collaboration between local partners and share local learning.
The Hubs work to deliver national projects locally, including:
- Creating community-led renewable energy, energy demand reduction, and energy supply projects, such as the Community Energy Fund.
- Domestic retrofit programmes such as the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Home Upgrade Grant, and the Local Authority Delivery scheme. These schemes fund energy efficiency improvements including insulation, draught proofing, upgraded heating systems, solar panels, and heat pumps in low income and social homes.
- The Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund, helping local authorities to make their own buildings easier, greener, and cheaper to heat and power.
- The Local Energy Advice Demonstrator programme, piloting innovative ways of providing energy advice to hard-to-reach communities and for local people who live in hard-to-treat homes.
Find out more about the Local Net Zero Hubs:
News
Heat
Three projects in Innovate UK’s Net Zero Heat programme were successful in securing grant support to transform how our buildings are heated and to reduce heat loss: Let Zero, Transform-ER, and ALCHEMAI.
Under new regulations to be introduced from next year, families and business connected to a heat network will receive greater protection such as compensation if they lose access to heating, fairer pricing, and clearer and easier to understand billing, says DESNZ.
Energy
232 solar panels were installed on the roof of a South Tyneside school, funded by The North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub’s Energy Project Enabling Fund. The panels are set to generate over 90kWh of electricity a year and save 19,000kg of carbon to cut the school’s energy costs.
Agriculture and food
Innovate UK has launched the UK Agri-Tech Centre, the UK’s largest agri-tech organisation responsible for driving innovation in the sector. Decarbonising the food supply chain is critical to achieving net zero by 2050.
Business engagement
Supplier audits, energy savings, digital footprints. Read the top 10 ways for businesses to cut their carbon emissions.
Innovation
Easyjet leads first hydrogen refuelling trial at a major UK airport.
Shared ambition to deliver sustainable research: 25 research organisation have signed a concordat to “reduce and eliminate our own negative environmental impacts and emissions and achieve the transition to sustainable practices.”
Funding
Digarbon – The decarbonisation fund for tertiary education in Wales.
The South West Net Zero Hub has created an ‘Able-to-Pay’ retrofit loan fund business case to overcome affordability barriers to accessing loans.
Reports
“The right tree in the right place, for the right reason.” New report seeks to answers the question: What’s the role of agroforestry in a net zero UK?
Nine solutions for cities to cut carbon emissions in construction according to a new World Economic Forum report.
UK Hydrogen Innovation Opportunity highlights the potential role of the UK in the global hydrogen technology market.
New report from the Scottish Fiscal Commission explores how climate change could affect the Scottish Government’s fiscal sustainability.