UK announces Ten Point Plan for a green recovery

3 min read

24 November 2020

On the 17th November 2020, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the Government’s plan for a green recovery “The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution”.  As part of this plan, the banning of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars has been brought forward to 2030.  

The industries which will benefit from the recovery plan includes offshore wind; hydrogen production and generation; nuclear power generation; electric vehicle manufacture and infrastructure provision; zero emission busses, trains and ships; building renovation; carbon capture and low carbon technologies.

The government’s plan contains the following 10 points:

1. Offshore Wind: 

A target to quadruple offshore wind production to 40GW by 2030.  The government will encourage this by aiming to deliver up to double the amount of renewables procured through its next Contract for Difference auction.  The government will invest £160 million into modern ports and manufacturing infrastructure to support the build out of infrastructure and hopes to attract private investment to attain its targets.

2. Hydrogen: 

A target to have 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030.  This will include lower carbon heating and cooking with no change in experience for domestic consumers through hydrogen blends and reducing the emissions of the gas used by up to 7%.  This will be supported by various measures including a £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund.  The government hopes to attract over £4bn of private investment in the period up to 2030.

The report also mentioned the government’s focus on producing low carbon hydrogen at scale using a combination of carbon capture and storage, offshore wind and renewables.

3. Nuclear: 

Investment in the next generation of nuclear technology through up to £385 million in an Advanced Nuclear Fund.  This will enable investment of up to £215 million into Small Modular Reactors to develop a domestic smaller-scale power plant technology design that could potentially be built in factories and then assembled on site.  It will unlock up to £300 million private sector match-funding.  There will also be up to £170 million for a research and development programme on Advanced Modular Reactors.

4. Zero Emission Vehicles:  

An end to the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030.

A committed £1 billion to support the electrification of UK vehicles and their supply chains, including developing a “Gigafactory” in the UK and £1.3 billion to accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure.

5. Public transport:

"Tens of billions of pounds" will be invested into rail network enhancements including electrification, £4.2 billion in city public transport and £5 billion on buses, cycling and walking infrastructure.

6. Planes and ships: 

The Government is investing £15 million into the design and development of zero-emission aircraft that could enter service in 2030, £15 million to support the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and £20 million to develop clean maritime technology.

Homes and public buildings:  

New regulations will be introduced to encourage the installation of up to 600,000 heat pumps every year by 2028. Also, there will be £1 billion available as grants for making improvements the energy efficiency of homes and replacing fossil fuel heating.

7. Homes and public buildings:  

New regulations will be introduced to encourage the installation of up to 600,000 heat pumps every year by 2028. Also, there will be £1 billion available as grants for making improvements the energy efficiency of homes and replacing fossil fuel heating.

8. Carbon capture and storage (CCUS): 

The UK will establish CCUS in two industrial clusters by mid 2020s, and aim for four sites by 2030, capturing up to 10 Mt of carbon dioxide per year. The Government will provide support from its £1 billion CCUS Infrastructure Fund to support these goals.

9. Nature: 

Increased protection of the natural environment by creation of new National Parks, AONB designations and Landscape Recovery projects to protect up to an additional 1.5% of natural land in England, contributing to a target of protecting 30% of UK land by 2030.  An investment of £5.2 billion will be made in flood and coastal defences.

10. Green Finance and Innovation: 

The government will launch a £1 billion Net Zero Innovation fund to accelerate the commercialisation of new low-carbon technologies which match the Ten Point plan, including floating offshore wind; nuclear advanced modular reactors; energy storage and flexibility; bioenergy; hydrogen; homes; direct air capture and advanced CCUS; industrial fuel switching; and artificial intelligence for energy.

The UK’s green recovery plan contains many themes in common with the EU green recovery plan, which we reported on here including renewables and hydrogen, renovation of buildings, clean transport and logistics.