Gov publishes net zero review: initial takeaways

20 Oct 2021 04:05 PM

On 20 October, the UK Government released Net Zero Review: Build Back Greener. This document includes several developments of note to the tech sector. The 368-page reports key points are as follows: 

• To work with the grain of consumer choice: no requirements to make uncomfortable and disruptive changes immediately i.e., scaping cars, changing boilers. 
• A commitment to fair carbon pricing, ensuring that the highest polluters pay. 
• Protect vulnerable consumers via government support in the form of energy bill discounts, energy efficiency upgrades, and more.  
• Work with the private sector to deliver cost reductions for low carbon technologies. Supporting the roll out of “state of the art kit”.  

Although this is a review of transitioning the entire economy, there are a few subsections of note to the tech sector.  

The net zero costing review released by HMT sets out some broad expectations of the financial implications of the review. As well as providing an estimated cost of 1-2% of GDP per year, this review refers to cooperative measures to reduce carbon leakage. The full review can be found here. 

Section 4i of the main Net Zero Strategy entitled “Innovation for net zero” sets out several key policy announcements, including information on R&D spending, private sector investment and commitments to global innovation initiatives.  

The Heat and Buildings Strategy is also noteworthy, particularly in its headline commitments to subsidise the installation of low-carbon heating infrastructure, namely household air to water heat pumps in the form of a £5000 household grant. This has significant policy implications for the energy sector and it likely to affect smart energy infrastructure too. The Strategy also aims to reduce the cost of low-carbon energy in general to drive consumer choice in pursuit of net zero.   

Greening Finance: Road to Sustainable Investing is the final report of interest. This explores the challenges of green finance, including understanding what counts as “green”, the responsible stewardship of capital and how to make the UK a leader in the space 

If you wish to learn more about any aspect of this weeks announcements, please contact Teo (Teodora.kaneva@techuk.org) or Craig (Craig.melson@techUK.org). techUK will be running a webinar at 11am 26 October to go into further detail with members.