The transition to a clean economy is a once in a lifetime opportunity to build the economic growth engine of the future. With a new government in place and laser-focused on revitalising the UK economy, the time is now for a comprehensive economic strategy centred on green prosperity. The Autumn Budget, and next year’s multi-year spending review, are opportunities to spell out this vision for renewal.
Recommendations for the new government
To put the UK firmly on the path to transition, E3G recommends that the new government focus on:
- Driving investment into green industries of the future. Treasury and the UK’s public finance institutions must be re-centred to focus on this mission. Reforms to place green prosperity at the heart of the UK financial system will be essential to ensure that finance flows to where it’s needed.
- Delivering the 2030 Clean Energy Superpower mission. To meet the 2030 clean power target, the Treasury must continue to support “no regrets” renewables, while also spurring investment in assets like long-duration energy storage and hydrogen-to-power which will be vital to replace fossil gas.
- Kickstarting the Warm Homes Plan to lower bills for households. Heat pumps and insulation will play a central role in bringing down bills, achieving energy security, and meeting carbon budgets. The Autumn Budget must make progress towards the statutory duty to upgrade all fuel poor homes by 2030. It must also make strides in heat decarbonisation. These goals depend on evolving the current suite of retrofit schemes and introducing new initiatives to boost delivery rates, and support supply chains and delivery partners.
- Supporting the growth mission through clean industry. Industry and manufacturing are crucial for our economy, employing hundreds of thousands of skilled workers across the UK. However, they are often carbon-intensive and under fierce international competition; their transition is key to their sustainable future. The Autumn Budget must help future-proof these industries and support affordable electrification.
- Positioning the UK as an international climate leader through oil and gas phase-out. Labour has a welcome pledge to end new licenses for oil and gas production. Treasury must take steps to back this up and ensure a just transition.
This briefing summarises our recommendations in these areas. Please contact Juliet.Phillips@e3g.org to request our full Autumn Budget submission.
