Government promises to unleash net zero investment blitz with 10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution

New stimulus plan to jumpstart green recovery

Carbon capture, hydrogen, nuclear, electric vehicles (EVs) and renewables all set to benefit from £12bn government stimulus plan, but critics warn funding falls well short of the level required to trigger a green recovery.

A consultation on phasing out sales of heavy goods trucks running on diesel fuel has also been announced, although no target date for ending the sale of diesel trucks has been proposed.

And, the government is targeting the installation of 600,000 heat pumps every year by 2028 to drive the shift away from gas boilers in homes.

The plan also reiterates Johnson's promise last month to power all UK homes with offshore wind by 2030, alongside a host of new and existing commitments targeted at wider green energy sector, including support for a number of cutting edge clean technologies.

For example, the £500m of new funding for hydrogen infrastructure will see almost half go towards scaling up 5GW of new production facilities for the low carbon fuel, with the remainder targeted at trialling its use for home heating, with an ambition to deliver the UK's first 'hydrogen town' by 2030.

An extra £200m of new funding will bolster existing funding to support the development of two carbon capture clusters by the mid-2020s, followed by another two by the end of the decade, taking total planned investment in CCUS clusters to £1bn.

IA calls for further action on climate change

A vote of confidence in nuclear power from the government will also see £525m of state support provided to help develop both large and smaller-scale nuclear plants, and for small modular reactor R&D, while a £20m competition is aimed at supporting the development of clean shipping technologies.

However, final details on how the government intends to support the development of new nuclear reactors is not expected to be confirmed until the long-awaited Energy White Paper is published.

The package follows a wave of green funding and policy announcements earlier this year, including a £1bn energy innovation fund, £5bn active travel funding, and £5.2bn for new flood and coastal defences in England by 2027, as well as Chancellor Rishi Sunak's recent confirmation that UK firms will face mandatory climate risk reporting from 2025.

The Prime Minister had been expected to unveil the new package with a major set piece speech to mark the year-long countdown to the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow next year, but Number 10's plans for this week have been disrupted by Johnson being required to self-isolate having last week met with an MP who later tested positive for Covid-19.

However, Johnson is expected to chair a virtual roundtable with green investors and business leaders on Wednesday where he will provide further details on how the plans should drive further private sector investment in the green economy.

And in an op ed in an Financial Times this evening, Johnson stressed the critical role of the business community and technology developers in catalysing a green recovery and putting the UK on course to meet its net zero goal, and announced plans for a new Net Zero Taskforce of business leaders.