Boris Johnson’s 10-point plan for “a green revolution”

The Prime Minister has outlined a ten-point plan for a “green industrial revolution” which outlines a series of new (and already trialled) announcements on climate, mobilising £12bn, and potentially three times as much from the private sector.

A statement was issued by No 10 in the morning and followed by a much more detailed policy document later the day. A new “Task Force Net Zero” is to be established to take the work forward as a national priority through to next year’s COP26 summit, which will put “a systems approach to the heart of our thinking” – a key ask of our recent climate tech report.

Here’s a summary of the key announcements:

•         Green finance and innovation: To accelerate the commercialisation of innovative low-carbon technologies (a key theme in our recent climate tech report) government will launch a £1bn Net Zero Innovation Portfolio focusing on the priority areas in the strategy and will include “disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence for energy.” Another £100m has been earmarked for energy storage and flexibility innovation challenges – another important space for techUK members. Priorities within the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio will be published this year.

Another significant announcement is the commitment to introduce mandatory reporting of climate-related financial information across the economy by 2035, with a significant portion of mandatory requirements in place by 2023, a measure announced by the Chancellor recently at the Green Finance Summit. The UK will also implement a green taxonomy that defines economic activities that tackle climate change and environmental degradation to help better guide investors.

•         Greener buildings: An area which remains controversial due to successive years of policy failure. Among the new commitments is a new target to install 600,000 heat pumps by 2028, a consultation next year on stricter building standards for non-domestic buildings and an extension of the Green Homes Grant by a year – following concerns that the market will struggle to implement over an already wet autumn and winter. A range of other funds will be targeting off grid homes, social housing, and new measures introduced for private landlords. The Heat and Building Strategy however has been pushed back into next year. A “world class” energy related products policy framework will also be launched next year – many digital devices are already covered in the scope of the EU regime and techUK will be monitoring this space closely.
•         Offshore Wind: The plan to produce 40GW of offshore wind and invest £160m into modern ports, had already been trialled, but the plan acknowledged that to integrate technologies such as offshore wind, we must transform our energy system using smart technologies. An offshore transmission network review in 2021 will set out the strategy to connect offshore generation assets, and the government’s plans for smart systems will be outlined in its forthcoming Energy White Paper. 
•         Hydrogen: In a new announcement, UK is set to develop 5GW of hydrogen production capacity by 2030, supported by a £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund. Next year it will set out business models and a possible revenue mechanism and by 2023 hopes to start blending hydrogen with natural gas, with village heating trials in place by 2025. 
•         New and advanced nuclear: Government has confirmed it will continue to pursue large-scale new nuclear and invest £385m in a new advanced nuclear fund, enabling investment of up to £215m in small modular reactors. Another £170m will be made available for a research programme on advanced nuclear reactors. £40m has been set aside to develop the regulatory framework and supply chain.
•         Zero emission vehicles: After a consultation earlier this year, the ban on petrol and diesel cars and vans has been brought forward to 2030. £1bn has been allocated to support the electrification of UK vehicles and their supply chains, including the development of gigafactories to produce the batteries that will be needed (this was announced in the 2017 Industrial Strategy).  £1.3bn will be invested to accelerate the roll out of EV charging infrastructure and £582m will be provided to extend the plug-in car, van, taxi and motorcycle grants to 2022-23. Government will consult on a date to phase out diesel HGVs and £20m will be invested next year in freight trials. Expect more detail in the DfT’s forthcoming decarbonisation strategy and a delivery plan setting out key milestones to deliver the phase out dates will be published next year.
•         Green public transport, cycling and walking: “Ten of billons of pounds” will be invested in enhancements and renewals of the rail network, £4.2bn in city public transport and £5bn for buses, cycling and walk, which the Prime Minister already confirmed earlier this year. £120m will be invested in zero-emission buses and the first ever National Bus Strategy will be published next year. At least two all-electric bus towns will be funded this year as well as the country’s first fully zero-emission city centre. A new body – Active Travel England – will be overseeing a £2bn budget to support cycling and walking. A new national programme will be launched to encourage more to use electric bikes too.
•         Jet Zero and Green Ships: A new Jet Zero Council has been established to accelerate the development and adoption of new technologies and to develop a net zero aviation strategy, which will be published for consultation next year. A £15m investment has been committed into a new 12-month study – FlyZero – delivered by the Aerospace Technology Institute into the feasibility of zero-emission aircraft by 2030. £20m has also been committed to support a Clean Maritime Demonstration Programme.

Other sections of the report cover actions to protect the natural environment and plans for carbon capture, usage and storage.

In the coming months we are expecting a 10 additional strategies to be published including the Energy White Paper, the Transport Decarbonisation Plan, the Industrial Decarbonation Strategy, the Heat and Building Strategy and the National Infrastructure Strategy, to name but a few. Perhaps the most significant however will be the Net Zero Strategy which will set out the pathway for transitioning to a net zero carbon economy.

It means that today’s 10 point plan, while containing some eye catching commitments and important step forwards, is only the initial foundations of the true green revolution that is surely about to be unlocked.