Net Zero Policy Tracker

Power

Key commitments from Energy Security Day

• Establish a new Government/industry solar taskforce, develop a solar delivery roadmap, and assess low-cost finance from retail lenders for homes and small business premises.
• Publish a Biomass Strategy in 2023 and a semiconductor strategy as soon as possible.
• Publish an action plan in 2023 in response to the Electricity Networks Commissioner’s recommendations on halving development times for transmission network projects.
• Commit to implementing the planning reforms signalled via the National Planning Policy Framework and the energy National Policy Statements (NPS).
• Establish Great British Nuclear to deliver a new nuclear programme and a new competition round to establish new small modular reactor technologies.
• The launch of a Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme, providing £160m to spur investment in port infrastructure projects.
• A shortlist of projects for the first electrolytic hydrogen production allocation round, with the intention to launch a second round in Q4 2023. A hydrogen production delivery roadmap will be published by the end of 2023.
• The announcement of successful applications of the first competition window for Strands 1 and 2 of the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, with the intention to launch a second competition window in the spring.
• Announcement of the Track-1 negotiation project list of carbon capture projects, the expansion of the Track-1 clusters, and the launch of Track-2 of the cluster sequencing process to establish two new CCUS clusters. A sectoral plan for CCUS will be published in 2023.
• A commitment to outlining an approach to rebalancing the price of gas and electricity by the end of 2023/24, with significant progress made to affect relative prices by the end of 2024.

Consultations

• Consult on establishing a framework for community benefits associated with transmission network build
• Consult in 2023 on the need and potential design options for market intervention to support hydrogen power.
• Government will consult on options for a new approach to consumer protection in energy markets from April 2024, and the future of the price cap on default tariffs.
• Publish five revised energy National Policy Statements covering renewables, oil and gas pipelines, electricity networks and gas generation, and an overarching Energy Statement for consultation.

Further detail needed on implementation

• Urgently finalise National Policy Statements to allow for quicker deployment of renewables capacity.
• Urgently bring forward meaningful suggestions concerning the rebalancing of gas and electricity prices, with detail around which policy costs will move from electricity to gas bills. Detail must also be brought forward for industrial as well as domestic consumers.
• Finalise the hydrogen business model to accelerate the expansion of UK green hydrogen production capacity and clarify how the remainder of the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund will be spent. Setting a robust hydrogen standard (with a very high bar for blue hydrogen) to give confidence to investors and users will be essential, and tightening this over time as the feedstock decarbonises and technology options become more efficient will be key. Using CfDs and government matchmaking, Government should set a clear timeline for when low carbon hydrogen will be available.
• Ensure through the Biomass Strategy that biomass is sustainably sourced and the whole lifecycle emissions are included in carbon accounts. Prioritise the use of waste biomass and direct its applications to sectors without alternative fuel switching options.

Remaining policy gaps

• Remove the barriers preventing the consenting and construction of onshore wind projects in the UK. Doubling UK onshore wind capacity to 30GW by 2030 would reduce consumer bills by £16.3bn over this decade, generate £45bn of economic activity and create 27,000 full-time jobs. Government should set a clear target for onshore wind capacity alongside a detailed roadmap for how and when the technology will be rolled out.
• Reform the connections process, with new queue management rules implemented requiring developers to meet key milestones throughout their connection journey or make way for projects that are further back in the queue that are ready to proceed.
• The National Planning Policy Framework and National Policy Statements for Energy should be updated so that renewable projects and low carbon infrastructure are treated as Critical National Priorities (CNP) that can be fast-tracked through the planning and consenting process.
• Develop the regulatory RIIO Framework to unlock anticipatory investment in network capacity and reconsider amending the remit of Ofgem to focus on emissions reductions and long-term costs, allowing transmission network operators to make spending decisions based on future savings and emissions reductions.
• Remove barriers to UK participation in the day-ahead electricity markets with neighbouring countries.
• Rethink the Electricity Generator Levy (EGL) by including an investment allowance for renewable generation consistent with the treatment of oil and gas extraction.
• Reform the Capital Allowance Regime to provide enhanced incentives for low carbon investment.
• Reform and expand the Contracts for Difference regime, increasing the budget for future rounds (from AR6) and increasing the strike price of new CfDs to reflect inflation and increased labour and material costs for developers. Pursuing voluntary CfDs would also boost investor confidence, provide net benefits to consumers, and allow for the decoupling of electricity prices for existing low carbon generation from marginal prices set by gas. This will be essential to prevent fossil fuels which, whilst generating around 40% of electricity, set the price of electricity from all sources 84% of the time in the UK.
• Work with the LCCC and the FSO to establish a market for long-term, zero carbon tradeable electricity contracts by the mid-2020s.
• Government should bring forward its decision on the role of hydrogen in home heating from 2026 to the end of 2023, and prioritise the £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund. Deployment of the remaining bulk of the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (£202m) should be prioritised to accelerate the growth of the sector.

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Industry

Key commitments from Energy Security Day

• Open the £5 million Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plans competition for bids in summer 2023.
• Extend the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, increasing total grant funding available by £185m to £500m, with applications open from early 2024– April 2025.
• Publish the full government response to the UK ETS Development consultation and plan to set out a long-term pathway for the UK ETS later this year.
• Explore eco-labelling for the embodied emissions of industrial products with a current consultation on how labelling could support demand for low carbon products.

Consultations and Calls for Evidence

• A carbon leakage consultation has been published alongside the strategy.
• Launch a call for evidence on Industrial Electrification in 2023.
• Replace 50TWh of fossil fuels per year by 2035 to support industrial fuel switching, alongside a consultation on how to overcome the barriers to fuel switching to electricity.
• Publish a consultation to review the current Batteries Regulations in the second half of 2023.
• Begin work on a Non-Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM) strategy in 2023. A Call for Evidence on NRMM decarbonisation options will be launched in autumn 2023.
• Launch a consultation on hydrogen production and industrial carbon capture business models.

Further detail needed on implementation

• Set clear targets for ore-based steelmaking to reach net zero by 2035 and confirm trials for low-carbon production methods such as hydrogen DRI steelmaking.
• Provide clarity on how the UK ETS will align with net zero, including through a gradual reduction in the number of free allocations and interim competitiveness support through the introduction of Carbon Border Adjustments.
• Simplify access to funding through resource and energy efficiency policies, especially for manufacturers in dispersed sites, and allowing applications on a rolling basis.

Remaining policy gaps

• Create incentives for electrification by increasing the availability of affordable renewable electricity and shifting the burden of policy and network costs, given that industrial electricity prices are between 25%–44% above the EU average.
• There are several policy options for improving the availability of affordable renewable electricity, including restoring an efficient investment framework for the cheapest mature renewables, supporting continued growth of interconnection through Ofgem’s cap-and-floor revenues system, and establishing a long-term, zero carbon electricity contracts market. An alternative method for creating incentives for electrification would be to shift some of the policy costs from the electricity bills of industrial producers onto industrial gas bills. This shift in costs would need to be accompanied by competitiveness support in the short to medium term for manufacturers currently reliant on gas as a fuel and feedstock that cannot easily or rapidly switch, including in the form of exemptions from these gas costs.
• Provide certainty of supply and a clear timeline for when low carbon hydrogen, waste biomass, and carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) will be available, using Contracts for Difference (CfDs) and government matchmaking. Policymakers should also use the UK Hydrogen Strategy as a starting point to develop standards that define low carbon hydrogen.
• Develop a clear roadmap for decarbonising dispersed sites, working with local authorities and local enterprise partnerships to ensure these locations are over time connected to CCS infrastructure and hydrogen production sites.
• Consider the case for targeting electricity from the currently limited volume of a CfD-derived renewables pool to include steel production, as an integral part of a transition support package.
• Explore options to enhance the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) market, including mitigating the risk of off-taker payment default, for example by developing standardised, tradeable PPA contracts, or offering state guarantees.
• Review the UK Emissions Trading System to chart a path towards linkage with the EU ETS. Alongside this, a CBAM must take full account of the climate ambition and robust carbon pricing regimes in the UK and EU so as not to place unnecessary barriers on the trade of low carbon electricity’.
• Implement mandatory product standards aimed at creating demand for low carbon industrial goods and materials, outlining clear timelines for their introduction and applying them throughout the supply chain to both intermediate and finished products. The ambition of mandatory standards should increase over time to encourage innovation and decarbonisation.
• To support this, an ambitious Green Public Procurement Strategy would provide a strong market signal to industry and help kick-start the market for low-carbon products. In public and private procurement contracts, implement requirements for a higher percentage of goods procured to be low carbon in order to drive demand for low carbon goods and incentivise the UK’s heavy industries to pivot to low carbon production.
• Put forward tangible proposals for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to prevent high carbon imports from gaining a growing market share at the expense of low carbon goods produced by UK firms.
• Build on the Industrial Decarbonisation and Net Zero Strategies to deliver a clear policy framework for industrial decarbonisation in response to the IRA and GDIP that attracts investment in UK industry and incentivises the onshoring of manufacturing process for green technologies. This must include competitiveness support for heavy industries where there are differences in input costs between the UK and other countries linked to faster climate progress, demand- and supply-side signals.
• To support the greater adoption of best practices across industry, HM Treasury should hypothecate revenue from the sale of UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) emissions allowances to fund low carbon production methods. By using the revenue raised by the sale of emissions allowances in the UK ETS to facilitate decarbonisation in a sector (for example by investing in grid development, fuel switching and electrification, or to directly cover operational expenditure (OpEx) spending), the UK Government can increase the pace and cost-effectiveness of industrial decarbonisation and improve competitiveness.

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Heat & Buildings

Key commitments from Energy Security Day

• Published plans for a new Energy Company Obligation scheme – the Great British Insulation Scheme – which will support over 300,000 households to improve their energy efficiency.
• Confirmation that the Boiler Upgrade Scheme will be extended until 2028, and Government will enhance its current marketing campaign to increase consumer uptake.
• Capital support to be extended to 2028 to facilitate the continued growth of low carbon heat networks, including £220 million for the Heat Network Transformation Programme over 2025/6 and 2026/7.
• Enhance the Government’s consumer energy advice service by launching a digital eligibility checker for Government funding and a series of pilots for in-person consumer advice across five regional Net Zero hubs in England.
• Launch a digital energy advice service for small businesses this year to give impartial, trusted advice on improving non-domestic energy efficiency.
• Introduce a regulatory framework for heat networks and begin the implementation of heat network zoning by 2025.
• Confirmed funding of £15 million for the 2023/24 Home Decarbonisation Skills Competition alongside recent confirmation of a new £5 million Heat Training Grant for heat pump and heat network skills.
• Develop evidence on the feasibility, costs, and benefits of converting gas networks to hydrogen to have hydrogen heating capacity by 2026 with continued assessment of new evidence.
• £30 million will be provided through the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator, leveraging up to £270 million of private investment into manufacturing and associated supply chains.

Consultations

• Commitment to consulting on a minimum energy efficiency standard for the social rental sector within six months of the Social Housing Regulation Bill receiving Royal Assent.
• Government plans to consult by the end of the year on how to improve the energy efficiency of owner-occupied homes. 
• Publish a full technical consultation for the Future Homes Standard and Future Building Standard in 2023.
• Overhaul the building physics model underpinning EPCs for housing and heating to better support net zero, with a consultation on this new model scheduled for later in 2023.

Further detail needed on implementation

• Clarity on how and over what time the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) will support the development of financial products to mobilise green finance for home improvements.
• Engage consumers to facilitate the transition to low carbon forms of heating and set up a reliable system of certification for technologies unfamiliar to consumers, such as heat pumps and hybrid systems.
• Invest in skills and build on the recommendations of the Green Jobs Taskforce to address skills gaps in the sector and ensure the workforce is equipped with suitable knowledge to recommend, service and maintain low carbon heating systems.

Remaining policy gaps / key next steps

• Government should legislate for all properties to be Minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) EPC C by 2035. This should be introduced with sufficient lead times and with appropriate funding support for the most vulnerable households. Furthermore, Government should publish the result of its consultation on introducing a new policy framework for performance-based energy ratings to overhaul the EPC system in line with industry concerns, disclosing the details of the metric which will be used to determine operational energy efficiency.
• HM Treasury should pair EPC regulation with targeted fiscal incentives, including VAT reductions on energy efficiency products, and reforming or offering rebates on Stamp Duty for properties of a better efficiency rating or incentives for households undergoing improvement. This should be applied to both domestic and commercial buildings.
• Government should establish an Energy Advice Service that provides information about bespoke energy efficiency measures for each property resident and owner, based on their unique circumstances.
• DESNZ and DfE should utilise the recommendations of the Green Jobs Taskforce and the knowledge of the Green Jobs Delivery Group to create and urgently publish an Energy Efficiency Installation Strategy, outlining a plan for upskilling the necessary tradespeople to install energy efficiency measures across the country.
• Government should introduce a new version of the Building Research Establishment’s Home Quality Mark or the Each Home Counts Quality Mark, which applies to older homes rather than just new buildings.
• For those unable to pay, Government should ensure that existing public funding schemes – such as the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (2020), Boiler Upgrade Scheme (2022), and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) 4 (2022) – are expanded over time.
• The (UKIB) should offer innovative products, such as 0% loans, to incentivise households to install energy efficiency measures.
• The Bank of England should offer a Green Term Funding Scheme.
• The Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulatory Authority should work with lenders to promote green mortgages for the purchase of higher EPC rating homes and reduce interest rates for homeowners that install energy efficiency measures.
• Regulate building design to reduce embodied and operational emissions, in line with the Part Z campaign, with the introduction of a minimum whole lifecycle carbon standard and upfront embedded carbon targets that are strengthened over time with differentiatedtargets by function and use. Government could build upon the guidance produced by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) on whole life carbon assessment for the built environment.
• Legislate for compulsory collection and reporting of tenant’s building energy use to deliver Net Zero outcomes.
• Publish the Government’s response to the 2021 consultation on performance based policy framework for large commercial buildings. This should confirm a timeframe for phasing in mandatory energy ratings across all sectors, beginning with commercial offices.
• Government should make permanent zero-rated VAT on solar and energy efficiency installations.

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Transport

Key commitments from Energy Security Day

• Publish a Low Carbon Fuels Strategy in 2023 to provide certainty for industry and investors on the role low carbon fuels will play across transport modes to 2050.
• Set an end date for the sale of new, non-zero emission buses and an expectation for when entire fleets should be zero emission.
• Launch the Rapid Charging Fund to support the upgrade of electricity capacity on the strategic road network, enabling the roll-out of ultra- rapid electric vehicle charge points.
• Aim to complete the review of the National Networks National Policy Statement during 2023, taking account of the Government’s legal net zero target.

Consultations

• Publishing a final consultation on an ambitious Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, requiring an increasing percentage of new car and van sales to be zero emissions. The ZEV mandate will be implemented in 2024.
• Consult on the future regulatory framework to deliver commitments to phase out the sale of new non-zero emission HGVs and support uptake in the interim period.

Further detail needed on implementation

• Bring forward a Transport Bill as laid out in the 2022 Queen’s Speech, to provide clarity on a new class of “Low-speed Zero Emission” vehicles, including clear regulation on the use of e-scooters and other forms of micro mobility.
• Look to meet e shortfall in finances that Active Travel England has described, which would enable them to equitably meet their targets across the UK.
• Prepare a public communications campaign to inspire behaviour amongst those less likely to use public transport, and encourage more to see shared mobility as a preferable alternative to private mobility.
• Publication of the Government’s Low Carbon Fuels Strategy, to provide businesses with clarity on investment decisions for heavier goods transport.

Remaining policy gaps / key next steps

• Develop a successor to the electric vehicle Plug-in Car Grant to ensure the continued uptake of zero-emission vehicles, and to enable the creation of a stronger second hand market in which the public can have confidence.
• Ensure a level playing field for those who do not have access to off-street parking and charging near their residence by creating price parity between VAT charged at home and at public charge points.
• Bring forward a modernised form of UK transport taxes that will help to shape a more sustainable future.
• Utilising the planned refresh to the National Planning Policy Framework to encourage a more holistic approach to transport and neighbourhoods.
• Develop a Rapid Charging Fund for HGVs and Coaches to ensure en-route provision.

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Nature & Circular Economy

Key commitments

Nature

• A Land Use Framework will be published later in 2023, detailing how to deliver multifunctional landscapes that are resilient to a changing climate whilst meeting the UK’s needs for net zero, food production and environmental recovery.
• The UK Government will publish its next National Adaptation Programme (NAP3), which the CCC has urged Government to make “much more ambitious than its predecessors and lead to a long overdue shift in focus forwards the delivery of effective adaptation”.
• Set out how farmers will be supported to understand their emission sources through carbon audits by 2024.

Circular Economy

• Publish consultation responses on consistency in household and business recycling in England, introducing a Deposit Return Scheme for drink containers from October 2025 and implementing packaging Extended Producer Responsibility from 2024.
• Publish Government’s response to the consultation on a revised Waste Prevention Programme for England alongside the new programme ‘Maximising Resources, Minimising Waste’.

Remaining policy gaps

Nature

• Set clear interim targets for adaptation measures so that there is clear trajectory of Government’s progress on building resilience to the impact of climate change.
• Build on the findings of The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review, to set forward practical next steps to build a more well-rounded understanding of economic growth and recognises the economic importance of nature.
• Provide further information on how Local Nature Recovery Strategies will work alongside other evolving initiatives, such as biodiversity net gain, planning reform and environmental land management schemes (ELMs).
• Ensure that ELMs are sufficiently resourced to drive a significant shift in agricultural practices to deliver environmental improvements. Particularly in relation to the Local Nature Recovery (LNR) and the Landscape Recovery schemes (LR).
• Clearly set out how nature restoration and decarbonisation will be integrated throughout the whole planning process, including recommendations set out in the Heat and Buildings section above.
• Clarity on how the Net Zero Systems Tool can be used to gain better understanding of dependencies and trade-offs within the land use system, as well as knock-on impacts in other areas.
• Assess opportunities to introduce mandatory TNFD reporting for financial institutions and large companies, to align with current requirements for TCFD.

Circular Economy

• Urgently implement the policy proposals first set out in the Resources and Waste Strategy of 2018, by prioritising the development of mandatory eco-design standards and lifecycle assessments, with the aim of capturing a rapidly growing range of priority products/sectors.
• Introduce fiscal mechanisms to reflect the whole lifecycle economic and environmental benefits of using secondary materials, for example adjusting VAT rates on repair services and the regeneration of the housing stock.
• Develop criteria for the £290 billion a year spent by the UK on public procurement to drive demand for products and services with higher resource efficiency standards.
• Use tax incentives, such as reduced business rates on waste materials sold in the UK market, to incentivise waste management and sorting companies to supply valuable scrap and waste materials to UK industry rather than the export market. This is particularly important where materials are recovered at a high rate (such as scrap steel), but not retained in the UK market.
• Building on the Green Jobs Taskforce, the Government should adopt a comprehensive low carbon skills strategy to equip our workforce with the skills they will need in a more circular economy.
• Provide public finance to support the development of critical infrastructure and facilities for recycling, repair, remanufacturing and reuse.

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Finance & Economy

Key commitments from Energy Security Day

• Government has published the Nature Markets Framework which sets out its approach to supporting and accelerating growth in nature markets.
• Published the recommendations around the role of regulators and regulations through the Patrick Vallance-led review of how the UK can better regulate emerging technologies to ensure growth.
• Provided further details on the assessment and endorsement process of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The Government will set up a framework to assess these standards for their suitability for adoption in the UK as soon as the final standards are published, expected June 2023. There will be two advisory committees to support its decision making and aims to make an endorsement decision within 12 months of the final standards being published.
• The Government will launch a Transition Finance Market Review, an industry-led market review into how the UK can enhance its position and become the best place in the world for raising transition capital.
• There will be an update to net zero investment roadmaps across economic sectors in 2023 and will publish a roadmap to guide nature positive investment in key sectors by 2024
• A commitment to relaunch the Green Finance Education Charter which will expand to encompass more professional bodies and include a broader range of topics – such as biodiversity loss, transitioning planning, and nature-based finance.
• The Financial Conduct Authority, Financial Reporting Council, and The Pensions Regulator will review whether the stewardship code is creating a market for effective stewardship and the need for any further regulation.
• The Government has commissioned two pieces of external research to scope investment tracking methodologies and evaluate available data sources. This will help the Government better track private investment into the net zero economy. A pilot of the UK Landscape of Climate Finance research will conclude in summer 2023.
• Government expects to invest approximately £4.2 billion in net zero R&I between 2022–25. Key areas identified are transport, power, industry and low carbon hydrogen, heat and buildings, natural resources/waste/F-Gases, whole systems, and CCUS/GGRs.

Consultations

• A commitment to consult on the introduction of requirements for the UK’s largest companies to disclose their transition plans, if they have them.
• A commitment to delivering the UK Green Taxonomy, with a consultation expected in autumn 2023. The Government also proposed that nuclear be included, set out that it will explore the appropriateness of a ‘transition taxonomy,’ and indicated that companies would be expected to report voluntarily against the taxonomy for a period of at least two reporting years, after which the Government would explore mandatory disclosures.
• Launched a consultation on regulating ESG rating providers.
• A commitment to launch a call for evidence on scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions reporting, expected in Q3 this year. The Government will also update the Environmental Reporting Guidelines, which provides voluntary guidance for UK organisations.

Further detail needed on implementation

• Publish a timeline detailing when the SDR will be put in place for businesses and investment products, when businesses will be required to publish net zero transition plans, and when businesses will be required to disclose alignment of activities against the new UK Green Taxonomy.
• Ensure interoperability between the UK SDR and UK Green Taxonomy and equivalents in the EU – including the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the EU Taxonomy – and internationally, to ensure that businesses operating in several jurisdictions are not subject to multiple reporting requirements that may be incompatible.
• Ensure the Green Gilt is scaled up to meet to demand, which was 10:1 for the first issuance round.
• Provide further details on when it will become mandatory for businesses and financial institutions to publish transition plans to meet net zero, including the scope of businesses included and a clear timeline.

Remaining policy gaps

• Develop the role of the UK Infrastructure Bank to play a role similar to that of the KfW in Germany, with a clear mandate to support investment in complex low carbon and environmental projects and in regions severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
• Improve the risk profile for green investment through the introduction of a ‘brown penalising factor’ as part of the capital weighting requirements.
• Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and HM Treasury should outline further details for their vision of what reporting against the new Sustainable Disclosures Requirements (SDR) framework will look like, including guidance, so businesses can begin to prepare for the regime change ahead of new primary legislation.
• The Government should use the new SDR to create a framework for businesses to look at identified climate risk and sources of emissions in a holistic way by integrating existing requirements, including merging the recommendations of the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) within the new framework, in order to make reporting requirements more comprehensive and simpler for businesses.
• The Government should make material scope 3 emissions reporting mandatory – but allow for the use of proxy data (such as through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory) to calculate emissions.
• The Government and regulators should prioritise interoperability on disclosures between new UK regulation and European and global regulatory initiatives. It may be desirable for the UK to develop more ambitious approaches on environmental sustainability which go beyond European and global standards, so long as these are scientifically justifiable and retain a degree of interoperability with these existing standards.
• The PRA must address the link between capital allocation and causes of climate change, considering changes to capital requirements to more accurately reflect the risks associated with investing in assets which are incompatible with a 1.5°C pathway and risk becoming stranded.
• Financial regulators should be given the mandate and responsibility for overseeing implementation of net zero transition plans, in addition to overseeing the creation of these plans.
• The Government must use public finance tools such as (UKIB) and the green gilt to de-risk climate-related investments and crowd-in private finance to the infrastructure, technologies and markets needed to accelerate the low carbon transition.
• When the Government begins tracking private financial flows into low carbon solutions, the UK Green Taxonomy should be used as a benchmark.

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Skills

Key commitments from Energy Security Day

• Publish a joint Government-industry Net Zero and Nature Workforce Action Plan in the first half of 2024, representing the culmination of several sectoral assessments in the coming 12 months.
• From spring this year, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) will publish the Green Jobs Delivery Group’s biannual updates from the co-chairs.

Further detail needed on implementation

• Support the development of sectoral skills plans across the economy, building on the work of the Green Jobs Delivery Group.
• Respond directly to outstanding recommendations made by the Green Jobs Taskforce in its final report from 2021.

Remaining policy gaps

• Government should develop a national low carbon skills strategy that embeds sustainability and net zero delivery across the whole education system, including apprenticeship programmes, higher education and lifelong learning.
• Government should update apprenticeship standards to integrate climate and sustainability and give businesses the flexibility they need to teach their workforce skills that go beyond their current organisation’s remit. Shorter term qualifications should be introduced alongside apprenticeships to provide the skills of the future for those enrolling in further education courses, as per the Lifetime Skills Guarantee.
• Business and national government should ensure better access to private finance by further developing the role of (UKIB). This bank should channel institutional capital and private savings to direct low carbon and skills investment towards parts of the country in most urgent need of economic regeneration.
• Simplify and expand the Apprenticeships Levy and amend the Lifetime Skills Guarantee to allow participation from people that already have a Level 3 qualification, and remove restrictions that limit participation to Level 3 or below.
• Government should explore how it can better collect data on green jobs and skills both locally and nationally.

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