News | Friday, 20th October 2023
Net Zero and green skills expert joins UK delegation to boost ties with Japan
University representative will visit Osaka and Tokyo in December
Manchester Met expertise on Net Zero and future green skills will be part of a Greater Manchester trade delegation to Japan.
University expert Amer Gaffar will join political leaders from Manchester and the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Japan, Greg Clark MP, as part of a mission that will celebrate and strengthen bilateral ties in diplomacy, trade and investment, net zero and innovation, and culture and sport.
Manchester Met is helping already UK businesses to understand and develop the skills needed to reduce carbon emissions and will strengthen this work through links with Japan.
The visit will also develop Manchester Met’s ties with the country following a recent Memorandum of Understanding agreed with Osaka Metropolitan University, with the aim of collaborating more closely on energy innovation research and increasing opportunities for students.
The University is at the forefront of Net Zero innovation and skills and has already committed to embed Carbon Literacy and Education for Sustainable Development on all courses by 2026, including its higher-level and degree apprenticeships.
The delegation to Japan will engage with political leaders, trade officials, and Japanese business, with the aim of broadening and intensifying political, business, cultural, and civic links.
Gaffar, who is the Director of the Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre at Manchester Met, said: “Japan is leading the world in the scale of its investment in energy-efficient technologies and I am looking forward to developing the links we have already made in Greater Manchester as the region continues its aim to reach net zero by 2038.
“As a centre of excellence in hydrogen and fuel cells, with a clear consensus in developing net zero skills for the future, Manchester Met is in a strong position to support the ties and common agendas between Greater Manchester and Japan.”
The mission will also establish Greater Manchester’s involvement with EXPO25, the upcoming World Expo event that will take place in Osaka between April and October 2025.
The delegation, including Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Council leader Bev Craig – with support from a group of founding members of the Greater Manchester Japan Steering Group – will visit Osaka and Tokyo between the 4 and 8 December.
As a centre of excellence in hydrogen and fuel cells, with a clear consensus in developing net zero skills for the future, Manchester Met is in a strong position to support the ties and common agendas between Greater Manchester and Japan.
The Japanese economy is one of the biggest in the world and is identified as a key area for growth in Greater Manchester’s international strategy.
In 2021, Greater Manchester exported £56m worth of goods to Japan. Japan is also in the city-region’s top 10 markets for export services with over £161m in export services provided in 2020.
Hajime Hayashi, Ambassador of Japan to the UK, said: “Since the late 19th Century, we have learnt a lot from Manchester and its surrounding region - from the spinning industry to the passenger railways - and have developed them into our own form in Japan.
“This visit will not only provide an opportunity for our friends of Manchester to see the 'present form' of what we have learnt from the UK, but also to develop something new based on our long relationship to mutually complement and enhance our strengths, and addresses common challenges.”
The visit will see Manchester Met sharing its credentials in leading Net Zero and future green skills.
In 2022, the University helped launch the North West Net Zero Skills Charter, which is designed by Manchester Met and its partners to help businesses harness new net zero opportunities for the benefit of communities and people across the region.
Greater Manchester’s ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2038 is also a key focus for the University’s Leadership in Sustainability Strategy 2022 to 2026.
