Policy paper

Forewords

Updated 5 April 2022

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

Presented to Parliament pursuant to Section 14 of the Climate Change Act 2008.

19 October 2021

ISBN 978-1-5286-2938-6

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Foreword from the Prime Minister

Our strategy for net zero is to lead the world in ending our contribution to climate change, while turning this mission into the greatest opportunity for jobs and prosperity for our country since the industrial revolution.

Removing dirty fossil fuels from the global economy will lead to the creation of vast new global industries from offshore wind to electric vehicles and carbon capture and storage. By moving first and making the United Kingdom the birthplace of the Green Industrial Revolution we are building a defining competitive edge. Through our ‘Ten Point Plan’ we have already attracted over £5.8 billion of new inward investment in just over ten months, and will create and support hundreds of thousands of new high skilled, high wage green jobs.

Over the last 3 decades we have already reduced our emissions by 44% - while growing our economy by over 75% – and this strategy sets out our plan for going the rest of the way. We will meet the global climate emergency but not with panicked, short-term or self-destructive measures as some have urged. Instead we will unleash the unique creative power of capitalism to drive the innovation that will bring down the costs of going green, so we make net zero a net win for people, for industry, for the UK and for the planet.

This strategy sets out how we will make historic transitions to remove carbon from our power, retire the internal combustion engine from our vehicles and start to phase out gas boilers from our homes. But it also shows how we will do this fairly by making carbon-free alternatives cheaper. We will make sure what you pay for green, clean electricity is competitive with carbon-laden gas, and with most of our electricity coming from the wind farms of the North Sea or state-of-the-art British nuclear reactors we will reduce our vulnerability to sudden price rises caused by fluctuating international fossil fuel markets.

The United Kingdom is not afraid to lead the charge towards global net zero at COP26, because history has never been made by those who sit at the back of the class hoping not to be called on. Indeed, as we set an example to the world by showing that reaching Net Zero is entirely possible, so the likes of China and Russia are following our lead with their own net zero targets, as prices tumble and green tech becomes the global norm.

For years, going green was inextricably bound up with a sense that we have to sacrifice the things we love. But this strategy shows how we can build back greener, without so much as a hair shirt in sight. In 2050, we will still be driving cars, flying planes and heating our homes, but our cars will be electric gliding silently around our cities, our planes will be zero emission allowing us to fly guilt-free, and our homes will be heated by cheap reliable power drawn from the winds of the North Sea. And everywhere you look, in every part of our United Kingdom, there will be jobs. Good jobs, green jobs, well-paid jobs, levelling up our country while squashing down our carbon emissions.

That is the clean and prosperous future that awaits every one of us as the UK leads the world in the race to net zero.

The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP
Prime Minister

Foreword from the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Now is the time the world needs to go further and faster to tackle climate change. The UK is stepping up to that challenge. Here we set out our ambitious strategy – the first of its kind in the world of a major economy - to create new jobs, develop new industries with innovative new technologies and become a more energy secure nation with clean green British energy. At the same time we will reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the economy to reach net zero by 2050.

The UK has already taken bold steps towards net zero, including bringing forward the end of sales of new petrol and diesel cars to 2030. We have committed over £12 billion of domestic green investment since March 2020, and have doubled our International Climate Finance commitment to £11.6 billion between 2021 to 2025.

This Strategy sets out the next steps we will take to cut our emissions, seize green economic opportunities, and leverage further private investment into net zero. The policies and spending brought forward in the Net Zero Strategy mean that since the ‘Ten Point Plan’ we have mobilised over £26 billion of government capital investment for the green industrial revolution. Along with regulations, this will support 190,000 jobs by 2025, and 440,000 jobs by 2030, and leverage up to £90 billion of private investment by 2030. This will put us on an ambitious path to meet our Sixth Carbon Budget and our Nationally Determined Contribution, cutting emissions by at least 68% by 2030 on 1990 levels, and reaching net zero by 2050.

We know economic growth and reducing emissions can go hand-in-hand. As we continue to build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic, we will fuel a Green Industrial Revolution, creating jobs and business growth opportunities, and establishing the UK as a global leader in the technologies to tackle climate change. We will deliver the commitments in the Prime Minister’s ‘Ten Point Plan’ and ‘Build Back Better: our plan for growth’, and go further to build a resilient economy and level up the UK.

The changes will have wider benefits for the public and businesses alike. We will all enjoy cleaner air, increased biodiversity and improved access to green spaces. We will see greater efficiency in the way we travel and heat our buildings, which will be better protected from more extreme weather events. We will also put consumers at the heart of this transition, helping them make their homes warmer, more efficient, and ensure that they pay a fair, affordable prices for their energy.

But we cannot tackle climate change alone. We will take a coordinated approach, working across local and national government, the devolved administrations, and with businesses and civil society organisations. And we will make it easier and fairer for individuals, businesses and households to decarbonise, so that our whole society can work together to reduce emissions. This strategy demonstrates how the UK is leading by example, with a clear plan for the future.

The Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

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