Latest news: Climate change centre jobs boost

Edinburgh Centre on Climate Change (ECCC) has been awarded £1.6million funding by the European Regional Development Fund, with backing from the Scottish government. 01/07/2011

The investment will create 80 jobs at a new climate centre in the Scottish capital and looks set to bring a £167million boost to the economy.

Due to open in 2013, the new centre will be located at the University of Edinburgh, and will provide a national hub for research into climate change and the development of low-carbon products and services.

Capital investment secretary for the Scottish government, Alex Neil, said that the centre was ‘good news for jobs’.

‘Scotland is leading the way on creating the skills and expertise needed to grow a thriving low-carbon economy and this new centre will be another string to our bow.

‘We will see world-class research on how to tackle climate change and the absolute best advice for businesses on how to boost the bottom line by having a low-carbon enterprise.’

Director of the ECCC, Dr Andy Kerr, described how the funding is critical to support the construction costs of the new building. ‘This funding is a fantastic and welcome contribution towards creating a hub for the ECCC. This will help realise our aim of equipping the next generation of industry leaders and opinion formers with innovative solutions and the skills to deliver a low-carbon future,’ he said.

The Scottish government believes that the low-carbon market is valued at £8.49billion with 4,098 companies employing 73,000 people. Low-carbon employment in Scotland is predicted to increase to about 130,000 jobs by 2020.