Politics may be loud, but business is clear: Britain’s future is already net zero
Sir Ian Cheshire
This article was first published in Business Green.
Britain can make climate leadership the backbone of economic growth, but policy needs to clear the path, writes Sir Ian Cheshire
This autumn’s party conferences exposed the ferocious political fight over net zero. The Conservatives pledged to scrap the Climate Change Act and ditch net zero 2050, aping Reform UK’s anti-climate narrative. While the Liberal Democrats formally abandoned their 2045 target and fell back into alignment with the prevailing 2050 framework. In better news, Labour sharpened its green credentials with Ed Miliband challenging the attacking tone of the climate retrenchers, reasserting the need for accelerated deployment of renewables, positioning retreat as unacceptable.
Amid that political ‘Pushmi-Pullyu’, the economic signal is far clearer. Businesses are moving, not because of rhetoric or political ideology, but because clean energy and decarbonisation now underpin competitiveness. These are becoming well-worn stats, but worth repeating: the UK’s net zero sector contributed £83.1bn to the UK economy in 2024 and is growing roughly three times faster than the economy overall, while last year saw £23bn in investment in green industries. The sector now supports nearly 951,000 full-time equivalent jobs across the UK, with productivity and wages above national averages.
That growth is broadly distributed, with regional hotspots in the West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber and the South West, together accounting for 16 per cent of the UK’s net zero economy. Renewable generation supplied 50.8 per cent of UK electricity in 2024, and public EV charging infrastructure grew by 27 per cent.
Those who argue that dismantling climate frameworks would reduce energy costs miss the point. The cost of clean technologies is cheaper than its alternatives, however the tariff structures need to be reformed so the end consumer can benefit. Capital wants to move to clean solutions and investors demand certainty on planning, permitting and grid access.
Mixed messaging is almost worse than bad policy because it weakens trust in our economy. Undoing or undermining the Climate Change Act, or sowing ambiguity about future signals, slows deployment and unsettles capital allocation. The data shows the clean energy transition is underway in the UK. Weakening climate policy and commitment risks hampering the route to capital and cheaper bills, cleaner air and more modern homes. And it fails to recognise that, with US and EU investors facing more uncertainty, Britain could be the haven for clean capital.
Labour’s leadership on climate action is coherent in direction but uneven in execution – they promise to lead the clean energy revolution, but on a timetable constrained by the Treasury and fear of political risk. And that has led to ambition continuing to outpace delivery. The Climate Change Committee reports that credible plans only exist for 38 per cent of the required emissions reduction for the UK’s 2030 climate target. Labour’s proposed 2035 climate target- a commitment to cut emissions by at least 81 per cent from 1990 levels – is bold on paper but needs to be matched by delivery plans.
On electrification, the cornerstone of the energy transition, the UK is picking up pace. In addition to a very strong showing in renewables supply for the country, Labour’s creation of Great British Energy, backed by £8.3bn, signals intent to crowd in private capital and accelerate delivery. The forthcoming Carbon Budget Delivery Plan and a properly empowered Net Zero Council can make policy predictable, link ambition to investment and ensure climate goals stay central to economic planning.
But key gaps remain in heating, industry and infrastructure. Heat-pump installations are rising but far below the rate needed, held back by high electricity prices and limited consumer support. Industrial electrification faces funding and policy uncertainty, while slow grid upgrades threaten to delay renewable build-out. Some of the foundations are in place with the Future Homes Standard expected to be released this autumn, alongside the existing UK Emissions Trading Scheme and clean-tech clusters supporting industrial change. The next step is to remove the frictions that slow deployment – speed up grid connections, narrow the electricity-gas price gap to unlock mass electrification of heat, transport and industry, and expand green-skills programmes so that every region can participate in the transition.
At COP30 in Belém, the UK has the chance to show that delivery at home strengthens credibility abroad. With a clear 2035 NDC and being the first G7 country to have successfully phased out coal from its power supply, it can help steer the talks toward implementation – phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, mobilising private capital for emerging markets, and aligning climate and nature goals. Britain’s influence rests on proving that transition policy drives competitiveness and stability – the same qualities every economy will need to thrive in a decarbonising world.
Britain can make climate leadership the backbone of economic growth. But if climate policy becomes fractured, hesitant or reversible, we risk falling behind. Politics is loud, but the legacy of this first half of the century will be written in factories, power systems, transport and homes. The UK’s future is already net zero, the task now is to clear the path.
Sir Ian Cheshire is chair of the We Mean Business Coalition, former CEO of Kingfisher, and a former chairman at Barclays, Channel 4 and Debenhams.