The United Kingdom Government announced a ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution to advance the country towards net-zero emissions.

Under the plan, the government will provide funding worth £12 billion (~$15.95 billion) for its implementation and create up to 250,000 new green jobs. The government anticipates three times more investment from the private sector to support the new plan.

“I will establish a ‘task force net zero’ committed to reaching net-zero by 2050, and through next year’s COP26 summit, we will urge countries and companies around the world to join us in delivering net zero globally,” said Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the U.K.

Below are the main components of the plan:

• Offshore wind

The ten-point plan includes enhancing the country’s offshore wind capacity to power every home with clean energy by 2030. The government aims to increase the country’s offshore wind capacity up to 40 GW by 2030, bringing £20 billion (~$ 26.46 million) of private investment in the country and supporting 60,000 jobs by 2030.

• Hydrogen production

As per the plan, the government set an objective to increase the country’s low-carbon hydrogen production capacity up to 5 GW by 2030, supporting 8,000 jobs. It announces a £240 million (~$ 317.76 million) Net Zero Hydrogen Fund and several other measures to achieve the target.

• Nuclear

The government is pursuing new large-scale nuclear projects to produce low-carbon power and create new jobs. A total of £385 million (~$ 509.54 million) will be provided for an Advanced Nuclear Fund, including an investment of up to £215 million (~$ 284.55 million) for the development of a domestic smaller-scale power facility technology design. Besides, £170 million (~$ 225.01 million) will be provided for a research and development program on advanced modular reactors.

• Electric Vehicles

The government intends to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 by investing over £2.8 billion (~$ 3.72 billion) in electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, and battery production. However, the sale of hybrid cars and vans will continue until 2035. The government will invest around £1.3 billion (~$ 1.72 billion) to accelerate the roll-out of charging infrastructure, while £582 million will be provided to the Plug-in Car, Van, Taxi, and Motorcycle grants to 2022-23 to decrease their price for consumers.

• Public transport

The plan includes investment worth £5 billion (~$ 6.61 billion) to deploy thousands of green buses and the development of hundreds of miles of new cycle lanes to provide cleaner and sustainable public transport. Besides, £4.2 billion (~$ 5.55 billion) will be invested for sustainable city public transport.

• Aviation and Shipping

The government will provide financial support to advance the research and development projects to develop zero-emission aircraft and ships. It is expected to provide £20 million (~$ 26.45 million) for the Clean Maritime Demonstration Program to develop clean maritime technology.

• Homes and public buildings

Per the ten-point plan, the government will provide funding worth £1 billion (~$ 1.32 billion) to make homes, hospitals, and schools more energy-efficient and reduce their electricity bills. The government aims to install 600,000 per year by 2028 and create 50,000 jobs by 2030. The green homes grant will be extended to enhance homes’ energy efficiency and replace fossil fuel heating.

• Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS)

The government will invest £1 billion (~$ 1.32 billion) to develop the carbon capture and storage industry in North Wales and Scotland. It will develop two industrial clusters by the mid-2020s and aim to establish another two facilities by 2030, creating 50,000 jobs in the sector by 2030. The government aims to utilize CCUS technology to capture and store around 10 million tons of carbon dioxide by 2030.

• Nature

As per the ten-point plan, £5.2 billion (~$ 6.88 billion) will be invested in a six-year program for floods and coastal defenses to reduce the flood risk and protect the natural environment of the UK. The government has a plan to cover 30,000 hectares with trees by 2025 to utilize nature’s ability to absorb carbon.

• Green finance and innovation

The plan includes funding worth £1 billion (~$ 1.32 billion) for the energy innovation fund to support new low-carbon technologies’ commercialization. The investment will focus on technologies such as artificial intelligence for energy, floating offshore wind, energy storage and flexibility, hydrogen, and advance CCUS.

The government also aims to make London, UK’s capital, the global center for green financing through carbon offset markets and sovereign bonds, which will be issued in 2021.

In March 2020, the government of the United Kingdom said that the country would co-chair the governing council on the India-led global ‘Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).’

Last year, the United Kingdom also joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA). The ISA is an Indian initiative that was jointly launched by Prime Minister Modi and former French President Hollande on November 30, 2015, in Paris.

Harsh Shukla is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.

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