Empowering a Greener Future: How the UK’s Seventh Carbon Budget Paves the Way to Zero

This was one of the key insights I recently took away from our Co-Chair and Green Finance Institute, CEO, Dr Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE during her Zero In Conversation discussion with LSE’s Sarah Griffiths.

And it was a point that sprung up again when I was reading the Carbon Climate Committee’s Seventh Carbon Budget, outlining the pathway for the UK to achieve its net zero targets between 2038 and 2042. 

The report stated that many of the key technologies needed to achieve net zero are already well-established and ready to deploy at scale. What’s missing is the support from government for investors looking to invest in emerging markets and technologies.  

Boosting investor and consumer confidence, addressing key market barriers and providing the right market mechanisms will be key to supporting investment into low carbon solutions.  

The CCC set out a raft of recommendations for the Government support to low carbon technology uptake and set us on path to deliver the Seventh Carbon Budget, including:

• Removing barriers, including in planning, consenting, and regulatory funding, to enable grid connections and rapid deployment of low carbon technologies.  

• Providing timely decisions on new technology choices to provide certainty and confidence to consumers and investors.  

• Supporting households to install low carbon heating to address barriers presented by upfront costs, especially in the case of low-income households. 

• Offering businesses clarity on the balance between government support and market mechanisms, so they can make the transition to low-carbon operations. 

• Providing households and businesses with clear information, to help them understand the choices available to them.

At this year’s Innovation Zero, in partnership with the Green Finance Institute, our Finance Forum will convene financial leaders to explore how policy can be developed to mitigate risks and remove barriers across key transition sectors and geographies to help accelerate key sector specific investment and innovation.  

Join leaders, including:  

• Dr Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE, Chief Executive, Green Finance Institute

• Kevin Chika Urama, Chief Economist and Vice President, African Development Bank

• Beverley Gower-Jones OBE, Founder & Managing Partner, Clean Growth Fund

• Tony Greenham, Managing Director, Sustainability, British Business Bank

• Stephanie Pfeiffer OBE, Chief Executive, IIGCC