Government promises to unleash net zero investment blitz with 10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution

New stimulus plan to jumpstart green recovery

Carbon capture, hydrogen, nuclear, electric vehicles (EVs) and renewables all set to benefit from £12bn government stimulus plan, but critics warn funding falls well short of the level required to trigger a green recovery.

Reports over the weekend suggested that the Treasury was blocking some of the more ambitious components of the 10 Point Plan amidst growing concerns about the impact of the pandemic on the nation's accounts. 

Investment Week's sister title BusinessGreen understands there were tense negotiations between Number 10 and Number 11 on the scale of the stimulus package, but insiders stressed that there had been a step change in the Treasury's engagement with the need to decarbonise the economy in the 18 months since the UK set its net zero target.

"The oil tanker of Treasury thinking - to use a bad analogy - is moving fast," said one source with knowledge of the talks.

Number 10 also pushed back at comparisons with Germany's green recovery package, arguing that it includes compensation payments for closing coal power plants, while the UK's £12bn plan could be expanded further if other areas such as climate resilience spending were included.

"The job is never done, but this plan is a significant moment and a significant downpayment on the next phase of the transition that puts us in a good place with a year to go to COP26," said one government source.