A terminal with a transparent dome; a green terminal; a terminal with a suspended bridge for passengers; one with key-shaped roofs; or an X-shaped terminal. These are just some of the ideas that six leading architecture studios from the UK proposed to investors of Poland’s future Solidarity Transport Hub. The projects will serve as inspiration for the Hub’s master plan, which will be commissioned at the beginning of next year.

The workshop, which took place on 18 June, is a joint initiative of British Embassy Warsaw and the Solidarity Transport Hub. The aim of this experiment was to get to know the ideas of world-class architects before creating a draft concept of the Hub. Six leading UK architecture studios took part in the workshop: Benoy, Chapman Taylor, Grimshaw, Foster+Partners, Pascall+Watson, and Zaha Hadid Architects.

Dariusz Sawicki, member of the Solidarity Transport Hub management board, commented:

We invited the most important architects to work with us because they have a huge amount of knowledge, experience and creativity. It was a good idea.

The contrast between the brave concepts and the investors’ expectations turned out to be deeply inspiring, at times opening our eyes to unusual solutions, which we hadn’t taken into account before. It brought us to a new phase of planning of the airport.

The investor isn’t obliged to use any of the proposals. However, ideas presented during the workshop will be a source of inspiration during the preparation for the completion of the project.

British Ambassador to Poland, Jonathan Knott, said:

Only the best of the best participated in these workshops. I sincerely hope that their work will be useful and inspiring for the company which is building the new airport in central Poland. I am happy that we could help facilitate the contact between the Solidarity Transport Hub and the architecture industry.

The UK today became the first major economy in the world to pass laws to end its contribution to global warming by 2050.

The target will require the UK to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, compared with the previous target of at least 80% reduction from 1990 levels.

The UK has already reduced emissions by 42% while growing the economy by 72% and has put clean growth at the heart of our modern Industrial Strategy. This could see the number of “green collar jobs” grow to 2 million and the value of exports from the low carbon economy grow to £170 billion a year by 2030.

Energy and Clean Growth Minister Chris Skidmore said:

The UK kick-started the Industrial Revolution, which was responsible for economic growth across the globe but also for increasing emissions.

Today we’re leading the world yet again in becoming the first major economy to pass new laws to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050 while remaining committed to growing the economy – putting clean growth at the heart of our modern Industrial Strategy.

We’re pioneering the way for other countries to follow in our footsteps driving prosperity by seizing the economic opportunities of becoming a greener economy.

The UK’s 2050 net zero target — one of the most ambitious in the world — was recommended by the Committee on Climate Change, the UK’s independent climate advisory body. Net zero means any emissions would be balanced by schemes to offset an equivalent amount of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, such as planting trees or using technology like carbon capture and storage

The government is hosting Green GB Week on 4 November to encourage all corners of the country and sectors of society to play their part in meeting these ambitious targets.

For more information about what the government is doing to tackle climate change, please visit the Green GB Week website.

With the threat of climate change putting future generations at risk, vile terrorist propaganda continuing to spread online, and rising tensions in the Gulf, this Summit is an opportunity for us to address critical global challenges affecting our nations.

The UK has never been afraid to defend our values and our interests, stand up for global rules and tackle difficult issues head on.

From our ambitious plans to protect the environment and our relentless fight against extremism in all its forms, to our promotion of free and fair trade and our world-leading international development expertise – we have consistently shaped global responses to the most pressing challenges of our time and called on others to step up and do more.

Undoubtedly there are issues facing us today on which our countries do not all take the same approach. But I firmly believe that progress will be greatest when we approach shared challenges in a spirit of genuine collaboration. As we have seen time and time again – we are always stronger when we work together.

And so my message to G20 leaders this week is this: it is only through international cooperation and compromise that we can protect our citizens’ security and prosperity and make the world a safer and a better place to live.