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The government has committed to make the UK a clean energy superpower which not only will respond to the changing climate, but also promises a whole host of opportunities too.
Places such as the East of England will change. They will welcome new forms of energy, with new projects being greenlit all the time. This will obviously impact local communities, but it does not have to be in a negative sense. These projects bring opportunity; they allow our region to play a key role in keeping the UK’s lights on, homes warm and economy thriving.
Through Net Zero East, we want to make sure there is no grey area in these plans – we are promising clarity and transparency, showing exactly what is happening, and what will, in the region, and all the ways you can benefit.
We want to build a united front and drive forward to a net zero future together.
Net Zero East launched with the intention to collaborate with local stakeholders across the East of England, uncovering innovative solutions that can enable and accelerate the transition to net zero by 2050 – the state where global warming stops, with greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere balanced out by the amount removed from the atmosphere.
Net Zero East sees a coordinated, whole-system approach as crucial to building the best decarbonisation pathway, with local place-based solutions and people-centric design key forms of support. Net Zero East believes everybody has a role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the local environment.
To improve communication on project development with communities and identify where collaboration and coordination among consented projects could reduce the burden on local people, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero convened an industry-led cross developer engagement group and this group has now gone on to further develop Net Zero East; a community facing platform that enables transparent information about the region’s energy development.
The urgency of the climate crisis has long been in little doubt and with the government now pursuing a clean energy mission, new energy infrastructure can be expected to ramp up across the country – including in the East of England.
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) previously noted concerns around transparency, as well as the impact that these projects could have on local communities, which is why this group was established and Net Zero East then launched.
As the government works towards making Britain a clean energy superpower, our work will continue, telling the story of the East of England’s energy transition, collaborating with communication leads from across industry, regulators and the government. We also want to support developers as they work to progress their projects, engage with communities and minimise impacts. We want to build supply chains and develop the future workforce.
Perhaps most vitally of all, we want to help communities by involving them and engaging with them on this journey to net zero, not only to ensure they understand what is being done and why, but also how they can maximise the benefits and opportunities around this energy transition.
We are made up of representatives from all of the major energy-related projects in the East of England, including Sizewell C and offshore wind farms, as well as industry bodies. Together, we will ensure the needs and perspectives of communities in the region are taken into account – both those impacted by this new infrastructure and those that stand to benefit.
Through our work, we will set a benchmark for communication in future energy projects across the whole of the UK.