There is only one way to tackle climate change while protecting our economy—and that is to be realistic about how we can all take incremental steps towards a cleaner, greener future while also keeping our industries running, our lights on, and our people in employment.
Britain is already leading the world by example through a legally binding goal to eliminate our contribution to climate change by 2050. But now we are going further—and the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow this year is the perfect opportunity to show the world how we are doing so.
Just as the UK was the birthplace of the industrial revolution, we are now in the process of ushering in a new green industrial revolution.
The backbone of the UK government’s climate strategy, the prime minister’s ten-point plan, shows that achieving net-zero emissions is not just good for the planet, but also good for our communities and businesses. It already constitutes a fantastic success story of government and business working hand-in-hand, mobilising £12bn of government investment and potentially three times as much from the private sector.
It will mean less harmful carbon emissions—ensuring your local hospital or the bus you take to work is cleaner and cheaper to run. At the same time, our transition will create and support up to 250,000 British jobs by 2030, so that communities across the UK can thrive.
This is a collective effort across the public and private sectors—climate change affects us all, so we are doing everything we can to tackle this global problem. For instance, last week we announced our pioneering Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, giving industry a concrete path to deliver cleaner outputs, while protecting jobs as we transition away from fossil fuels and seize investment opportunities from new, green technologies.
“The green transition will support up to 250,000 British jobs by 2050”
The benefits are clear. We are now the world’s leader in offshore wind, providing clean electricity that costs people less. Teesside and Humber will once again be world-leading industrial trade centres, with two offshore wind ports acting as centres for the manufacture of cutting-edge turbines that can power a home for two entire days with a single turn of their blades.
No other government in the world has legislated for or invested in the future of its energy industry as boldly as we have. We have chosen concrete actions to make sure we reach our ultimate climate goal by 2050.
This government’s commitment to going green has never wavered, and we will keep striving to achieve our goal and bring forward bold plans. But this is not a fight government can win alone. It will take all of us: government, industry, every business, every council and every citizen to succeed, and it is the responsibility of every one of us to make sure we do.
