- Chris Skidmore’s Net Zero Review identifies Net Zero as the ‘growth opportunity of the 21st century’ and calls for the UK to lead the global race for green growth.
- The Review sets a challenge to Rishi Sunak – will he commit to adopt its recommendations, and make climate leadership a defining feature of his Premiership?
- Sunak will have the opportunity to adopt some of the recommendations in the upcoming Green Finance Strategy, due out in March. This will be a key moment for judging the government’s level of ambition.
Story
The Net Zero Review by Conservative MP Chris Skidmore identifies Net Zero as the growth opportunity of the 21st century and calls for the UK to lead the global race for green growth. The Review’s core recommendation is for the UK Government to provide business with greater policy and investment certainty to help leverage billions of private investment into the UK economy.
The plan includes specific recommendations to support UK climate transition and international leadership, many of which can be taken forward in the upcoming Green Finance Strategy due in March. These include:
- Measures to make home retrofits simple, affordable and accessible for all;
- A massive scale up in solar and wind deployment and a new mission and action plan to decarbonise the UK grid.
- Publishing a Net Zero Investment Plan for the UK to unlock investment flows at scale, and proposing an independent function to track progress against the plan. These steps were recommended this Autumn by a business coalition of 30 companies with £3 trillion in assets.2
- Updating the UK’s financial rules by building on the work of the UK Transition Taskforce, taking forward a Sustainability Disclosures Regime, and adopting a UK Green Taxonomy which provides guidance to firms making investments in the UK’s climate transition.
- Rapid action to promote green trade and international competitiveness in the race to net zero.
Quotes
Ed Matthew, Campaigns Director at E3G said:
“This review has confirmed what business already knows. Net zero is not only essential to human survival, it is the greatest economic opportunity of our time. To unleash this extraordinary potential requires net-zero to be put at the heart of the government’s economic mission, policies and investment. The Prime Minister must act immediately to deliver Mission Zero.”
Kate Levick, Associate Director, Sustainable Finance at E3G said:
“The global climate transition will also be a global race to capture economic growth opportunities. The UK needs a Net Zero Investment Plan for financing the transition, together with a broad set of additional actions to green the financial sector and scale up green investment. We particularly welcome the Review’s support for taking forward the Sustainability Disclosures Regime, including mandatory transition plans and a green taxonomy.”
Juliet Phillips, Senior Policy Advisor and energy efficiency expert at E3G said:
“The Net Zero Review proposes a package of measures for energy in our homes that would increase affordability and energy security, and drive down UK emissions. The ball is now in Rishi Sunak’s court. 2023 must be the year the UK moves from delay to delivery on energy efficiency and clean heat. We have all the solutions. What we need now is the political will and ambition to deliver them.”
Jonny Peters, Senior Policy Advisor and trade expert at E3G said:
“We welcome Chris Skidmore’s call for a strategic review of the UK’s international climate leadership this year. The Net Zero Review rightly calls for the UK to urgently wake up to the implications of the United States’ $370bn Inflation Reduction Act, which is already causing the UK to lose out on high profile investments in priority areas like electric vehicles. It also calls for the UK to consult on introducing a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), pushed back from last year. Green trade will play a vital role in delivering net zero and the UK must prioritise environmental goals in trade agreements”
Available for comment
The following spokespeople are available for comment, please contact them directly:
Ed Matthew, Campaigns Director
M: +447827157907 ed.matthew@e3g.org
Jonny Peters, Senior Policy Advisor, Trade and Climate
m: +447954 201039 jonny.peters@e3g.org
Juliet Philips, Senior Policy Advisor, Place Based Transitions
+44 7548 097 061, juliet.phillips@e3g.org
Kate Levick, Senior Associate, Sustainable Finance
M: +44 7860 861225 kate.levick@e3g.org
Notes to Editors
- E3G is an independent climate change think tank with a global outlook. We work on the frontier of the climate landscape, tackling the barriers and advancing the solutions to a safe climate. Our goal is to translate climate politics, economics and policies into action. About – E3G
- Thirty leading UK companies and financial institutions, managing around £3 trillion in assets, signed a joint letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer calling on government to set out a ‘Net Zero Investment Plan’ alongside the upcoming Green Finance Strategy. Please see here for full details: https://www.e3g.org/news/investors-managing-3-trillion-in-assets-call-on-uk-government-to-deliver-net-zero-investment-plan/
- For further enquiries email press@e3g.org or phone +44 (0)7783 787 863
