Climate plan captures clean energy benefits and boosts investment

The Government has confirmed plans to seize the opportunities of the booming clean energy economy with the publication of the Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan.

Published 29 October, the plan sets out how the UK will continue to reduce emissions in a way that lowers bills and secures good jobs, in line with the landmark 2008 Climate Change Act. This framework has been supported by Britain’s leading businesses, trade unions and civil society organisations because it creates a stable environment for investment in clean energy. Since the UK introduced the Act, it has been emulated around the world with 60 other countries now adopting their own climate legislation. 

The framework created by the Act has helped to secure billions in investment, and this plan sets out how the British public and businesses stand to benefit in the years ahead with economic growth, cleaner air and protecting the nation’s natural environment for current and future generations. 

The UK is a global leader in decarbonisation and securing investment in clean energy industries, with the UK’s net zero sectors growing three times faster than the economy overall, according to the Confederation of British Industry. The UK has reduced emissions by over 50% while growing the economy by over 80% since 1990. This is alongside over £50 billion of private investment announced into clean energy industries since last July, with the clean energy workforce set to double to more than 800,000 people by the end of the decade. 

The Government is pursuing policies which deliver tangible improvements to the everyday lives of working people, harnessing clean energy technologies to cut bills and deliver warmer homes. The core of the Government’s plans are:

• Investing in clean energy to deliver energy security and lower bills: Wholesale gas costs for households remain 75% higher than they were during the year before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and are the main reason energy bills remain high. In an unstable world this leaves the UK vulnerable. The Government is investing in renewable and nuclear energy to get the UK off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel prices and onto clean, homegrown power it controls, protecting the British people and building a system that can bring down bills for good.  
• 400,000 extra jobs by 2030: The Government recently announced a national plan to recruit the workers needed for the clean energy mission, with over 400,000 extra jobs by 2030. From Sizewell C in East Anglia to wind turbine manufacturing in Hull, carbon capture in the North West and North East, and ports in Wales and Scotland. 
• Warmer homes: The Government is upgrading homes for five million families through the Warm Homes Plan. This will provide support for families to switch to low carbon heating to cut their bills and have warmer homes, including with higher standards of insulation and rooftop solar. The Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan does not include a boiler ban and nor will the Warm Homes Plan. Government is focused on making sure heat pumps and other low-carbon technologies are the natural consumer choice, in line with its wider approach to pursue the clean energy transition through incentives not penalties. This builds on the warm home discount, which will cut bills for six million families this winter.   
• Cleaner air: The plan will help make the air cleaner across the country, leading to better health and a higher quality of life for people now and in the future, including through tree planting which helps to create more attractive, healthier and resilient places to live. From cleaner air to more affordable travel, climate action will make the British people better off. Zero Emissions Vehicles are now cheaper to run, saving drivers up to £1,500 a year in running costs compared to a petrol or diesel car.

Secretary of State, Ed Miliband, said: 

“Over the last 16 months we have put clean energy and climate action at the heart of our government’s agenda – because we know it is the route to making the British people better off. 

“This is about delivering better lives for people today – from warmer homes and cleaner air to cheaper transport and increased access to nature – as we tackle the climate and nature crises to protect our home for future generations. 

“It would be negligent to leave our children and grandchildren to face energy insecurity and climate breakdown. By providing clarity and certainty on how Britain will seize these opportunities, this plan will help unlock the investment we need in clean energy, jobs and growth at home. And it will strengthen our position as a climate leader so we can push others internationally to take the action needed to avoid disaster.”

Minister for Climate, Katie White, added: 

“Our world leading Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan supports good jobs now and in the future, while continuing to attract billions of pounds of investment into Britain. [The] plan reaffirms that clean energy is the economic opportunity of the 21st century. 

“As we meet our climate targets we will deliver lower bills, warmer homes, cleaner air and good jobs in the clean energy industries of the future for British people.”

gov.uk