UK prime minister Boris Johnson has unveiled a £12bn 10-point plan to combat climate change and biodiversity loss.
Set to be announced this week, the plans include bringing forward bans on petrol and diesel cars to 2030 from 2035, producing enough offshore wind to power every home and developing the first town heated entirely by hydrogen by the end of the decade, according to reports. It also aims to develop the City of London the global centre of green finance.
The “green industrial revolution” is said to require £12bn in funding and create up to 250,000 jobs.
Sky News reported the prime minister (pictured) is to say in his speech: “Our green industrial revolution will be powered by the wind turbines of Scotland and the North East, propelled by the electric vehicles made in the Midlands and advanced by the latest technologies developed in Wales, so we can look ahead to a more prosperous, greener future.”
The 10 points in the plan are:
- Offshore wind: The government’s ambition is to have every home in the UK powered by offshore wind, cutting electricity emissions. This means quadrupling production to 40GW by 2030, supporting up to 60,000 jobs
- Hydrogen: Generating 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 – enough to power 1.5 million homes – and developing the first town heated entirely by hydrogen by the end of the decade. Hydrogen is a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels and can be used for industry, electricity generation, for boilers to heat homes instead of gas, and to replace diesel in vehicles such as buses and HGVs.
- Nuclear: There is renewed support for nuclear from the government as a clean energy source amid plans to develop the next generation of small and advanced reactors, which could support 10,000 jobs. A little under a fifth of Britain’s power from a fleet of reactors are retiring in the coming years.
- Electric vehicles: Accelerating the transition to electric vehicles, and transforming infrastructure to support electric vehicles including charge points in homes, streets and motorways.
- Public transport, cycling and walking: Making cycling and walking more attractive and investing in zero-emission public transport including hydrogen buses
- Jet Zero and greener maritime: As jets and ships rely on fossil fuels without a clear cleaner alternative, this point supports research projects for zero-emission planes and ferries
- Homes and public buildings: With homes accounting for one fifth of carbon dioxide emissions, making buildings greener, warmer and more energy efficient is a priority. The government plans to install 600,000 heat pumps every year by 2028, creating 50,000 jobs by 2030
- Carbon capture: Technology to capture and store harmful emissions away from the atmosphere, such as storage deep underground in old oil and gas fields in the North Sea. This would remove 10MT of carbon dioxide by 2030
- Nature: To tackle the wildlife crisis and biodiversity loss, the government plans to protect and restore the natural environment by planting 30,000 hectares of trees every year, creating and retaining thousands of jobs. An extra £40m has also been promised for a ‘green recovery challenge fund’ for charities restoring nature across the UK
- Innovation and finance: Innovative technologies are needed to fulfil the plan and finance plays a key role. There is an increasing focus on how markets and investors tackle the climate crisis – amid this is a desire to develop the City of London as the global centre of green finance
More to follow
