Dundee is one of the UK's most "leading edge cities" in the transition to net-zero
Members of the Climate Change Committee are visiting Dundee today
Members of the Climate Change Committee (CCC) have attending a day of events to learn more about how Dundee's key institutions are contributing to the effort to reduce emissions to net-zero.
The committee have been touring the city with key stakeholders to learn more about some of the cities innovative sustainability initiatives. They have been visiting sites such as the University of Dundee, Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc, and V&A Dundee.
The city of discovery is one of only eight stops for the committee across the UK and their only visit in Scotland.
Established under the Climate Change Act 2008, the CCC provides independent advice to the UK Government and the devolved Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on tackling climate change. This includes advice on delivering the nationwide target of net-zero emissions by 2050, as well as taking steps to build the UK’s resilience to climate change impacts.
The committees chair Lord Deben said: “Dundee has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, with a desire to become a net-zero city at the heart of this regeneration.
“It will be fascinating to learn more about how stakeholders are working together to make this vision of a modern, greener city a reality, and how such collaborations can be effective elsewhere in the UK.”
Chief executive of the committee Chris Stark said: "I think every city across the UK has got its challenges and I'm very pleased to say that Dundee is further ahead than most. In fact, possibly one of the most kind of leading edge cities in the transition and that's been really interesting to see that."
On what lessons other cities across the UK could learn from Dundee, Stark added: "I think this idea of partnership across some of the institutions that we have in Dundee is something that I would love to see other parts of the UK and Scotland pick up.
"So, you've got the university in a very prominent role here. Along with the local authority, along with some of the local industries and business that are based in Dundee."
On net-zero targets, he added: "Well, the targets that we have here in Scotland are incredibly challenging. I'm confident they can be met. I'm also confident that if they're met then they will be profoundly positive for Scotland, for the Scottish economy and for people living and working in Scotland.
"But, the next decade is absolutely critical. So, it's fine to set a target. It's actually quite an easy thing to set a target. It's another thing to actually delivering it."
One of the innovative business committee members met with was SolarisKit. The company based at the Michelin Scotland Inovation Parc say they build 'the worlds first flat-packable solar water heater.' CEO and founder Dr Faisal Ghani said: "What we're trying to do is decarbonise heat.
"At the moment around half of the worlds energy is consumed to meet heating demand and around 70% of that is still being met using fossil fuels. So what we're trying to do is develop a really simple, practical solution to help people harness sunlight to meet their heating needs using our solar thermal collector.
"So, we're looking at how we can decarbonise heat in the UK, but, more important we're also looking at how we can decarbonise heat in the global south. So regions like Africa, south east Asia and Central America. They're still largely dependent on traditional biomass."
“Climate change is the defining global event of our lifetime,” said Professor Iain Gillespie, Chair of the Dundee Climate Leadership Group.
“The Dundee Climate Leadership Group has brought together the expertise and experience of local public, private and environmental groups as a demonstration of our commitment to tackling the climate crisis and ensuring that our city produces net-zero emissions by 2045.
“It is with great delight that we welcome members of the Climate Change Committee to witness both the small and large-scale initiatives being undertaken here, from supporting the adoption of electric vehicles by installing charging points to marquee developments such as the Eden Project.
“I am confident that our city-wide commitment to lowering emissions can positively influence the national discussion around climate change and act as an example to other locations throughout the UK.”