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COP26 held in Glasgow, Scotland - 

A landmark Net Zero Strategy setting out how the UK will secure 440,000 wellpaid jobs and unlock £90 billion in investment in 2030 on its path to ending its contribution to climate change by 2050 has been unveiled by the UK government this week (19 October).

Building on the UK Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan to tackle climate change, the UK’s Net Zero Strategy sets out a comprehensive economy-wide plan for how British businesses and consumers will be supported in making the transition to clean energy and green technology – lowering Britain’s reliance on fossil fuels by investing in sustainable clean energy in the UK, reducing the risk of high and volatile prices in the future, and strengthening our energy security.

As the first major economy to commit in law to net zero by 2050 and hosts of the historic UN COP26 climate summit, the UK is leading international efforts and setting the bar for countries around the world to follow. The UK has hit every single one of its carbon budgets to date – being below the maximum allowed emissions under the plan that takes the UK to 2050.

Now the Net Zero Strategy sets out the UK’s clear policies and proposals for meeting the fourth and fifth carbon budgets, keeping the UK on track for carbon budget six, our ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), while setting out a vision for a decarbonised economy in 2050.

The BBC’s Energy and Environment Analyst, Roger Harrabin has described the Heat and Buildings Strategy as a “world first” and a “trend-setting initiative that other nations will surely follow”.

And on the Net Zero Strategy he has said: “I have to say that this looks to me like the most advanced plan from any major nation towards how we will actually get around to achieving the emissions cuts that are being so bravely promised.”

According to a press release received by Voice of Indonesia on Friday (22/10/21) the Net Zero Strategy has been submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the UK’s second Long Term Low Greenhouse Gas Emission Development Strategy under the Paris Agreement. 

The commitments made will unlock up to £90bn of private investment by 2030, and support 440,000 future proof well-paid jobs in green industries in 2030. This will provide certainty to businesses to support the UK in gaining a competitive edge in the latest low carbon technologies – from heat pumps to electric vehicles – and in developing thriving green industries in our industrial heartlands – from carbon capture to hydrogen, backed by new funding.

An extra £350 million of our up to £1bn commitment to support the electrification of UK vehicles and their supply chains and another £620 million for targeted electric vehicle grants and infrastructure, particularly local on-street residential charge points, with plans to put thousands more zero emission cars and vans onto UK roads through a zero emission vehicle mandate.

Working to kick-start the commercialisation of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) made from sustainable materials such as everyday household waste, flue gases from industry, carbon captured from the atmosphere and excess electricity, which produce over 70% fewer carbon emissions than traditional jet fuel on a lifecycle basis. Our ambition is to enable the delivery of 10% SAF by 2030 and we will be supporting UK industry with £180 million in funding to support the development of UK SAF plants.

£140 million Industrial and Hydrogen Revenue Support scheme to accelerate industrial carbon capture and hydrogen, bridging the gap between industrial energy costs from gas and hydrogen and helping green hydrogen projects get off the ground. Two carbon capture clusters - Hynet Cluster in North West England and North Wales and the East Coast Cluster in Teesside and the Humber - will put industrial heartlands at the forefront of this technology in the 2020s and revitalise industries in the North Sea – backed by the Government’s £1 billion in support.

An extra £500 million towards innovation projects to develop the green technologies of the future, bringing the total funding for net zero research and innovation to at least £1.5 billion. This will support the most pioneering ideas and technologies to decarbonise homes, industries, land and power. £3.9 billion of new funding for decarbonising heat and buildings, including the new £450m three-year Boiler Upgrade Scheme, so homes and buildings are warmer, cheaper to heat and cleaner to run.

The policies and spending brought forward in the Net Zero Strategy mean that since the Ten Point Plan, we have mobilised £26bn of capital investment for the green industrial revolution. 

“The UK’s path to ending our contribution to climate change will be paved with well-paid jobs, billions in investment and thriving green industries – powering our green industrial revolution across the country. By moving first and taking bold action, we will build a defining competitive edge in electric vehicles, offshore wind, carbon capture technology and more, whilst supporting people and businesses along the way. With the major climate summit COP26 just around the corner, our strategy sets the example for other countries to build back greener too as we lead the charge towards global net zero.” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. 

Both the Net Zero and Heat and Building Strategies build on the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan in November 2020 which laid the foundations for a green industrial revolution, kickstarting billions of pounds of investment in new and green industries to help level up the country. To date, the UK has decarbonised faster than any other G7 country//VOI-NK