Jonathon Porritt, chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, has launched Ignition09 and applauded the event’s aim to bring wood fuel to the fore of the renewable heat energy market.
Speaking to a packed audience at The Sage Gateshead, Mr Porritt said people needed to understand how urgent it was to start developing this country’s wood fuel industry.
“This is potentially a huge industry so we just need to turn all those eloquent politicians’ words into urgent action on the ground,” he said. “For this to happen it’s vitally important to provide easy access to current information and aid understanding of this growing sector.
“We’ve talked about it for years whilst others have been taking action. Ignition09 is a fantastic new opportunity enabling companies to make an informed decision on whether wood heat is a viable option for their business in the future,” he said.
Ed Miliband, secretary of state for energy and climate change, sent a message welcoming this new event and its specific focus on raising awareness of wood fuel as a source of renewable heat and power.
The March 11-12 event, designed as part of the NEWHeat project, is a not-for-profit initiative funded by One North East.
