The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Net Zero Council, which aims to use more environmentally friendly practices to grow the economy.
As the journey to net zero continues, clean energy projects can be used to drive the economy forward, with the council bringing government and business leaders together to collaborate on achieving national climate targets. An example of this collaboration being successful is the fact that the UK is the first major economy to halve its carbon emissions since 1990, whilst continuing to grow by approximately 80%.
Successes over the last 12 months include identifying the need for credible and consistent criteria for businesses to construct action plans to reduce emissions and reviewing plans for businesses in a number of sectors to decarbonise – representing 80% of the nation’s carbon emissions.
Justin Tomlinson, Energy Security and Net Zero Minister, commented:
“As we celebrate the first anniversary of the Net Zero Council, it’s clear the collaborative effort between business and government have seen real progress in driving decarbonisation across a range of sectors.
“Our journey to net zero continues, and through this forum we will unlock the opportunities of the clean energy transition – steadfast in our shared mission to build a greener, more resilient economy for future generations.”
Over the course of the next year of the council, it is aiming to achieve the following:
- Bringing industry-led roadmaps together to improve opportunities for decarbonisation across a number of sectors.
- Continuing to support small and medium-sized enterprises by expanding tools and resources that are supplied through the UK Business Climate Hub.
- Increasing public awareness of net zero whilst providing toolkits to support customer and supply chain engagement.
Co-Chair of the Net Zero Council, Shirine Khoury-Haq, added:
“As we mark the first anniversary of the Net Zero Council’s work, the importance of dialogue between business, finance, and government to ensure that we are working together to accelerate our transition to a cleaner, greener and fairer future, and seizing the opportunities that lay ahead, is more important than ever.
“I’d like to thank all the members of the Net Zero Council and all those who have supported the important work we have done so far, and I look forward to continuing this dialogue in the year ahead.”
Image credit: iStock
