Economic Q&A replay: the economy, markets, currency, retail and property in 2021
17 December 2020
From vaccines to Brexit and elections to currency. What does 2021 have in store for the UK?
null | 60 min video | 60 min podcast
The UK government has set the most ambitious target to curb climate change of any nation. Ahead of the UN Climate Ambition Summit on 12 December, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that by the end of 2030, the UK would reduce carbon emissions by 68% of what they were in 1990 and will continue to aim for net-zero emissions by 2050.
Young said the government’s most significant commitment is the Ten Point Plan. The blueprint for the transition to cleaner energy was developed with the goal of rejuvenating the economy by supporting up to 250,000 ‘green’ jobs. It lays out plans to utilise £12bn of government investment, and potentially three times more from the private sector. This would be utilised to achieve progress in ten key areas – the majority of which are related to energy:
The government has committed £1bn to support the establishment of CCUS in four industrial clusters, such as Scotland, South Wales, Humberside, Merseyside and Teesside.
The government recently targeted 600,000 heat pump installations a year in the UK by 2028. A considerable jump from 30,000 average currently installed annually.
Martin Young, senior utilities analyst
Electrified transport is the direction of travel and investing heavily into industries that are in decline does not make economic sense.
Marc Elliott, senior energy technology analyst
As the highest contributing sector to UK emissions, transport is seen as a key frontier in the realisation of net-zero by 2050.The infrastructure plan also commits to supporting the Ten Point Plan's investment into carbon capture and storage and also earmarks £5.2bn to protect properties and communities subject to increased risk of flooding and coastal erosion. This could have direct implications for transport or industrial businesses or those with assets able to benefit from retrofitting or flood protection.
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