The world's first carbon innovation hub is to open in Edinburgh, the BBC has reported.

The Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation (ECCI) took 19 months to be refurbished at a cost of £10.5m.

The centre, which is situated in Edinburgh's historic Old High School in High School Yards, will bring together experts from business, academia and politics to find ways to transition towards a low carbon future.

As part of the refurbishment, methods such as reusing "grey water" to flush toilets, solar controlled glazing in the windows to remove the need for air conditioning, and under-floor heating, will all contribute to a 30% saving in energy consumption, when compared with the building's former performance.

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Andy Kerr, ECCI executive director, is quoted as saying: "ECCI is all about new ideas, collaboration, and knowledge sharing, so it's perfectly fitting that our new home is on a site that has been a focus for learning and teaching for around 800 years.

"The building has been designed specifically to help ECCI to achieve its goals and we hope that by bringing the right people together in this unique environment we will be able to solve the complex problems associated with climate change and the transition to a low carbon future."

(JP/CD)