New hub and innovation lab to share zero carbon solutions
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A new Zero Carbon Britain Hub and Innovation Lab is being launched at CAT later this year to help communities, local authorities and policymakers to create Zero Carbon Action Plans, and to provide support for the development of innovative solutions.
In the past few months, as awareness of the urgency of action on climate change has grown, we have been inundated with requests from governments, political parties, councils, community groups and businesses, all wanting CAT’s help with drafting policies and plans that will turn climate emergency declarations and targets into on-the-ground action.
In July we secured a substantial gift from the Moondance Foundation that will allow a step-change in our ability to respond to these requests through the creation of a new Zero Carbon Britain Hub and Innovation Lab.
Support for climate emergency action planning
The Zero Carbon Britain Hub will provide a programme of support aimed at increasing the confidence, competency and effectiveness of policymakers, communities and organisations in developing Zero Carbon Action Plans tailored to their needs.
We will be offering participative training courses and events at CAT and in venues across the UK, as well as online training. These will include ‘train the trainer’ courses to allow people to share knowledge with their colleagues and communities.
Mentoring programmes and access to expert advice will help guide people through the process of developing and implementing Zero Carbon Action Plans, whilst an online platform will provide tailored digital resources to help support the journey to zero carbon.
A living laboratory for environmental solutions
Alongside this, a Zero Carbon Britain Innovation Lab at CAT will help unlock sustainable solutions to specific challenges.
From technical innovations to social and economic solutions, CAT’s new living laboratory will open up opportunities for researchers, entrepreneurs, businesses, governments, citizens, councils and foundations to work together to create innovative, proven, effective climate solutions.
In order to tackle complex problems like climate change we need solutions that work across a complex range of interacting areas; solutions that not only offer technical fixes but also help overcome political, cultural, economic and psychological barriers.
The Zero Carbon Britain Innovation Lab will: respond to key issues, priorities and tasks identified by the Zero Carbon Britain Hub; test and prototype solutions; and create routes into larger scale impact or systems change.
The Zero Carbon Britain Hub and Innovation Lab represents a real step-change in CAT’s ability to provide support, advice and solutions to help in the transition to zero carbon. Keep an eye on our website for announcements as the project gets underway – and make sure you’re signed up to our newsletter to receive updates.
