UK Carbon Budget and Growth Plan boosts clean energy economy

The UK Government published the Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan on 29 October, setting out how it will meet Carbon Budgets 4-6 (2023-2037) while capturing benefits from the growing clean energy economy.

• Main announcement: The Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan (published 29 October) explains how the UK will reduce emissions in line with the Climate Change Act (2008) and unlock over £50 billion in private investment announced since last July; it forecasts 400,000 extra clean energy jobs by 2030 and a doubling of the clean energy workforce to more than 800,000 by the end of the decade. The plan highlights specific projects and areas: Sizewell C, wind turbine manufacturing in Hull, carbon capture in the North West and North East, and upgrades to ports in Wales and Scotland.
• Background and details: The plan sits alongside the Warm Homes Plan (upgrading homes for 5 million families, no boiler ban), an Investor Prospectus, and the UK Methane Action Plan; it argues energy security and lower bills via investment in renewable and nuclear power, identifies wholesale gas costs as a driver of high bills (noting they remain 75% higher than pre-2022 levels), and includes concrete delivery instruments and an analytical refinement to show how emissions savings will arise across sectors.