In 2019, the UK became the first major economy in the world to actually pass legislation binding itself to achieve net-zero carbon by mid-21st century! The UK was a trail-blazer in this regard and has now been followed by the EU, South Korea and Japan. Even China is talking about something similar, aiming to achieve zero-emissions by 2060.
The UK was already planning to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2040, but this has been brought forward to 2030 – in just 10 years time!! Transport makes up around 28% of the UK’s output. Even Hybrids will be banned from 2035!
Other areas of address include heating our homes. This accounts for around 19% of UK carbon output with the possible solutions of either hydrogen cells or ground source heat pumps, again technology that is only just getting going.
Where does all this electricity come from? Power generation accounts for 16% of emissions. Solutions to this are in carbon capture and storage and greener generation such as tidal and wind power.
So, what will it all cost? Very difficult to answer but car charging infrastructure may be around £30billion (my guess), traditional generation around £48.5billion (according to Scottish Power), wind power £50billion (Aurura Energy Research guess) and much more. Bear all this in mind and tilting our investments to sustainable or ethical approaches could be an easy win. One thing is sure, the investment needed and the commitment from the Government could produce a huge bounce when all this Covid is finally over! Something tells me that is the UK Governments plan after all! If the UK masters this, we will then be able to “export our new skills and technology” around the world helping “UK PLC” get back to balancing its books.
As always, take advantage by contacting your local experts and building your very own Financial Fortress!