An innovation centre at the University of Hull that helps businesses develop carbon-reducing ideas has been championed by a British business lobby for supporting the UK’s bid to be a beacon of green growth.
The university’s £12 million ($17m) Aura Innovation Centre offers space for companies of all sizes to deliver green innovation, in turn helping to sustain the UK as a global leader in offshore wind and the wider renewable energy sector.
It has been highlighted now by the Confederation of British Industry for its drive to create new technologies, businesses and jobs that will help the UK economy win the global race to net zero.
The CBI set out a series of changes on Monday that could be worth £700 billion in commercial growth over the next decade, with decarbonisation one of the key changes needed.
Britain has a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to create 240,000 low-carbon jobs by 2030 and boost green exports by billions of pounds to transform the UK economy over the next decade, the CBI said.
Calling on companies to “seize the moment”, Tony Danker, director general of the CBI, said the nation can bounce back from the hit of Brexit and Covid-19 by encouraging decarbonisation and innovation, and levelling up its regions.
This would involve businesses working with trade unions, civil society and the government to cut carbon emissions to unlock the UK’s growth potential.
“Decarbonising our economy is a planetary imperative,” said Mr Danker. “We can use our transition to net zero to create green jobs, to find sustainable solutions and sell them to the rest of the world.”
A failure to make bold changes now “will result in a return to business as usual” and a continuation of “the persistently low productivity and heightened social division that followed the 2008 financial crisis,” Mr Danker said in a speech on Monday.
Britain’s economy suffered its worst recession in 300 years during the Covid-19 crisis, a slump that followed years of uncertainty caused by the decision to exit the European Union. With a recovery now under way, policymakers and analysts are debating how economies around the world can adapt to changes caused by the crisis.
“This country will never have a greater opportunity to transform our economy and society for the better than we have right now,” Mr Danker said. “This is the moment where we have a genuine chance to make big bets on how the U.K. economy will grow and compete.”
Mr Danker identified “six prizes” the UK can win if it completes the transformation, with an economy that is decarbonised, innovative, globalised, regionally thriving, inclusive and healthier.
The CBI argues that can be achieved through policies such as regulatory reform for investment and innovation and the creation of a new body, co-chaired by the Treasury, the Bank of England and the CBI, to help boost finance for growth and investment. It also suggests a “long-term tax road map” for the country that will help restore the pandemic-battered public finances.
But the negative impact on the planet from rising emissions is one of the CBI’s key targets, particularly as the UK is already a leader on the path to decarbonisation after becoming one of the first major economies to announce a net-zero target.
The group called on every individual and business in the UK to lower energy usage and reduce Co2 emissions, while it urged relevant sectors and firms to ramp up net-zero exports to fast-growing global markets.
This includes additional decarbonisation exports to the EU including electric vehicles and vehicle batteries worth £168bn, carbon capture, usage and storage worth £1bn, hydrogen electrolyser production worth £8bn, and offshore wind goods and services worth £3bn.
In turn, this could create 240,000 new jobs that could help to level up the UK’s labour market and improve the country’s physical and mental health through reduced air pollution.
“The UK has a genuine chance of being a world leader in areas like carbon capture and offshore wind as well as a significant player in electric vehicle,” the CBI said.
“We have a real opportunity to become a significant exporter of new green products and services. Ultimately getting behind net-zero is the right thing to do for our society.”
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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More about Middle East geopolitics
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Poacher
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
