The month in review – November 2025

This month, the Aldersgate Group has continued to make the case for ambitious climate and environmental measures that drive economic growth and reinforce energy security. We hosted several high-level events and continued our engagement with key stakeholders on important climate and environmental policy developments.

This month, we published our latest report: Workforce planning for clean heat: Where will the heat pump workforce come from? This report was produced by WPI Economics, on behalf of the Aldersgate Group, The MCS Foundation, Phoenix Group and Santander UK, and examines where the UK’s future heat pump workforce could come from and how government policy can build a strong workforce pipeline through retraining and apprenticeships. James Fotherby, Policy Manager, authored a blog for LCEF on the findings of the report.

Ahead of the Autumn Budget, Aldersgate Group and Buro Happold authored a piece published in Sustainable Views making the case that now is the time to reaffirm that environmentally sustainable growth priorities are fundamental to the UK’s economic ambitions. This is notably true for the UK’s built environment sector, where the latest Buro Happold research shows that 81% of UK real estate businesses are developing or integrating environment, social and governance (ESG) strategies, and 89% of executives report that ESG delivers a positive financial return.

Following COP30 in Belem, Rachel Solomon Williams, Executive Director, released a statement to say, “From a big picture perspective, COP30 fell far short of what’s needed. Climate breakdown is causing huge economic and humanitarian damage already, and there is very limited time in which to drive down emissions and stabilise the situation. Businesses understand the huge risks that climate change pose to their resilience and supply chains, as well as the benefits that multilateral support could have in driving down the cost of transition. This outcome did not send a clear enough signal that these factors are being taken seriously by governments globally.”