The West Midlands at COP26: Hydrogen-powered trains and net zero by 2041
The region's commitment to green and low-carbon tech will be on show
The West Midlands' green and low-carbon technology will be on show at Glasgow's COP26 climate conference this month.
The UK's first battery-powered train and hydrogen-fuelled train, both designed and built in the West Midlands, will be at the conference.
They're part of the region's commitment to be net zero by 2041, while Mayor Andy Street is due to deliver a speech at COP26 on November 11 on the region's work in building a zero-emission transport system.
The more environmentally-friendly transport project received £1bn additional funding in last week's budget announcement.
West Midlands' Mayor Andy Street is also set to launch a new carbon-cutting initiative that will be taken on a neighbourhood-wide scale, rather than at individual household level.
A debt to pay
The commitment to green and low-carbon future technology and transport comes as part of the West Midlands being 'Home of the Green Industrial Revolution'.
With the region being at the heart of the first coal and steam industrial revolution, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) say there's a debt to pay back to the globe.
That's why the area is quickly growing it's low-carbon industries, with the sector now being worth over £12bn, employing nearly 100,000 people.
That's significantly higher than the average number of people employed in green industries in the UK:
- Coventry & Warwickshire employs 28 times the UK average in electricity transmission
- The Black Country employs 5 times the UK average in securing recycled materials
- Birmingham and Solihull employs 5 times the UK average in building management systems and activities
A future low-carbon West Midlands
The WMCA will also host a COP26 Regional Roadshow on Thursday 11 November at the University of Wolverhampton's Springfield Campus.
The region’s most innovative businesses will showcase their low-carbon technologies, including electric vehicles, energy system solutions and construction technologies and products.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the WMCA, said: “The West Midlands was the birthplace of the first industrial revolution, but the advances it brought came at a heavy price for our planet.
“So, as the eyes of the world focus on the UK for leadership on climate action at COP26, the West Midlands is ready to face up to our moral responsibility and play our role in leading this change.
“Our #WM2041 goal to become a net zero region with the next two decades will be far from easy, particularly as it is a target that is well ahead of many others around the world. But with hundreds of thousands of jobs on the line, there is an economic imperative – as well as an environmental one - to get this done.
“I look forward to using COP26 to showcase the West Midlands, our ambitious plans, and the brilliant companies and innovations that make us the home of the Green Industrial Revolution.”