Low emission leaders gather in Dundee

Published

10th July 2018

Delegates from more than two dozen of the world’s leading low emission cities will gather in Dundee later this week for a summit on going ultra-low.

Government ministers, entrepreneurs and business chiefs from as far afield as New Zealand will share their experiences and discuss Dundee City Council’s eight year journey.

Councillor Lynne Short, convener of the council’s city development committee who will be speaking at the event said: “There is no magic wand or silver bullet to becoming an ultra-low emission city.

“It takes vision, dedication and a lot of persuasion to do what we have done including the introduction of dozens of electric vehicles (EVs) to our fleet, providing a network of EV charging hubs, bringing in a low emission taxi policy and campaigning on behalf of owners, manufacturers and the supporting network.

“But the rewards are huge in terms of sustainability, clean air and a hard fought reputation for innovation and vision for the city recognised across the globe.”

Representatives of both the UK and Scottish governments will address the conference at Discovery Point on Thursday (JULY 12) focusing on policy issues around go ultra-low cities, taxis, targets and the charging network.

Industry chiefs and business leaders will also talk about charging infrastructure, the public/private partnership that has successfully delivered projects to date and the next steps for the network across Scotland and the UK, during the day-long event.

EV entrepreneur Dee West will tell delegates about New Zealand’s journey to introduce infrastructure and vehicles, while a representative of The R&A will speak about the ambition of golf’s governing body to integrate low carbon solutions into the staging of The Open, one of the world’s major sporting events. The 147th Open takes place at nearby Carnoustie from July 15-22. 

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Representatives of cities including Nottingham, Bristol, London, York, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Birmingham, Cambridge, Coventry, Cardiff, Barcelona, Wurzburg and Frankfurt will be at the event.

They have also been invited to extend their stay in the city to attend the official opening the following day of the city’s latest EV charging array at Princes Street.

The rapid charging hub, also features renewable technology including solar canopies, charging points and battery storage.

Support has come from Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and Transport Scotland.

Dundee City Council

Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.

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