Leadsom, Villiers and Jenrick: 21st Century Conservatism at the heart of ambitious net zero package

• Up to £1 billion investment in the automotive industry to focus on green growth and delivering emissions reductions in the road transport sector.
• Creating more green spaces across the UK, with a new Great Northumberland Forest where up to one million trees will be planted by 2024.
• A new Future Homes Standard to ensure world leading energy efficiency in homes be introduced from 2025.
• Package also looks to the future of UK science, with a fusion power plant to be built by 2040, backed by an initial £220m.

An ambitious net zero package - which includes measures on transport, housing, energy and nature, will be delivered by Conservatives in Government so that we can deliver on our commitment to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better condition than we found it.

The package marks another step on the road to the science-led 2050 net zero target. It is the latest set of ambitious environmental announcements from the Government, and follows the recent commitment to double International Climate Finance at the UN, the announcement of a new £1bn Ayrton fund for climate science, the creation of a new £220m biodiversity fund, the extension and expansion of the UK’s Blue Belt programme, and the Prime Minister’s pledge to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss as two sides of the same coin at the G7.

It comes ahead of the UK-hosted COP in 2020, a critical moment in ensuring other countries match the UK’s ambition on climate change.

The new package - which will increase investment for the research and development of electric vehicles; introduce more green spaces across the country; introduce a Future Homes Standard for greener homes - will help to reach the Government’s commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050, as recommended by independent experts on the Committee on Climate Change. It will also look to the future, with an investment in UK science and a pledge to build a new fusion power plant by 2040.

The package commits to up to £1billion of investment in the automotive industry, to support green growth and a new future of mobility in the road transport sector. The automotive industry is one of the UK’s world leading sectors for decades, and this package of measures will support it to stay at the forefront of greener and more advanced technologies, while securing the UK’s place as a world leader in transport technology and innovation.

This new funding will accelerate production of key technologies in the UK through major investments in the manufacturing of batteries, electric motors, drives, power electronics and hydrogen fuel cells, along with their component and materials supply chains. These measures will help us not only to reach the net zero 2050 target, but to produce high-skilled, high-paid jobs throughout the country. The Conservatives have a proven record on this – with previous investment resulting in 400,000 people working in low carbon businesses and their supply chains across the country.

The net zero package announced today also commits to create more green spaces throughout the UK, with further funding for ‘pocket parks’ and a commitment to create a Great Northumberland Forest.

Trees and forests are not only an essential part of the British countryside, but also provide significant health and wellbeing benefits, and are a vital part of our response to climate change. To kickstart an ambitious new Great Northumberland Forest, the Conservative Government has today announced its commitment to plant three new forests in Northumberland, with up to one million trees planted between 2020 and 2024. Planting more trees will tackle emissions, while the diversity of species will improve biodiversity.

The Government has also pledged to support a programme to create new “pocket parks” and regenerate existing ones, transforming small pieces of undeveloped or derelict land in urban areas into a green space for public use. The programme will ensure that communities are provided with safe green spaces to enjoy that can be used for everything from children’s play areas and exercise, to vegetable growing.

The Conservatives have invested heavily in renewables, with half of our electricity now coming from low carbon sources. Earlier this month, we announced a further 6GW of offshore wind at record low prices – for the first time ever, there will be no need for subsidy by taxpayers or consumers.

The Government is also determined to invest in the energy sources of the future, providing energy security and lower prices. That’s why we’ve announced plans to design, develop and build a fusion power plant by 2040, to provide clean energy and position the UK as the leading nation of this exciting new technology. An initial £200 million investment in the first five-year development phase of the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) will set us on the path to develop and build a commercially viable fusion power plant by 2040, offering clean, safe and carbon-free fuel supplies.

Emissions from heating homes are a large contributing factor to the UK’s carbon footprint, and so the Government has also announced the introduction of a Future Homes Standard, to improve the energy efficiency of homes and reduce emissions. The Future Homes Standard will see requirements of building regulations for new homes raised by 2025 to meet world-leading energy efficiency standards, with interim regulations from 2020.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Andrea Leadsom, the Business and Energy Secretary said:

“Addressing climate change is a top priority for the Conservative Party, and today’s announcements will not only help us reach our Net Zero 2050 target, but will benefit communities and households - and improve wildlife and wellbeing - while doing so.

“Today’s announcement is further evidence of the benefits of going green. The Conservatives are doing this properly: creating hundreds of thousands of low carbon jobs and growing our economy while successfully reducing emissions.”

Theresa Villiers, the Environment Secretary said:

“The planting of one million trees will be fundamental in our commitment to be the first generation to leave the natural environment in a better state than we found it. They will enhance our landscape, improve our quality of life and protect the climate for future generations”

Robert Jenrick, Housing Secretary said:

“I want new homes to play their part in tackling climate change and leaving the environment in a better way for future generations. That’s why I am introducing a Future Homes Standard which ensures that no new home is built from 2025 without the best levels of energy efficiency and low or zero carbon heating. And because I want to lead the world in this area, I am implementing the first steps on this revolutionary road as early as next year. The Future Homes Standard will change the way we build and heat our homes forever and create opportunities for businesses to innovate our way to a better future. 

“We are also establishing more pocket parks in urban areas as part of our wider ambition to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy green spaces nearby. The Conservative Party will protect our environment for future generations.”

ENDS

For further information contact the Conservative Party Press Office on 020 7984 8121.

Notes to Editors

Electric Vehicles

• The automotive sector is facing a period of unprecedented and rapid change, and we must support it to transition to new, cleaner technologies. As more focus is put on autonomous, connected and electric vehicles, we intend for the UK to build on its existing strengths in automotive with one of the most productive and diverse ecoystems with six major high volume car makers, eight specialist manufacturers including Rolls Royce, Mclaren and Aston Martin and over sixty specialist car makers including six out of the ten Formula One teams being based here. The UK is also host to two world-leading research and development facilities in the Faraday Institution and Advanced Propulsion Centre.

• We are creating a flexible, multi-year pot of up to £1bn to invest in industry in a wide range of activities to develop and embed the next generation of cutting-edge automative technologies. This could be used to support further R&D in our world-leading research centres and to develop and deepen UK manufacturing supply chains for large-scale production of electric vehicles.

Creating a Great Northumberland Forest

• The three new forests in Northumberland will include up to one million new trees, and will leave our environment in a better state for the next generation. We will start planting in 2020, to coincide with the UK hosting COP26 international climate conference, and the forests will be complete (totalling up to 500 hectares) by spring 2024.
• This is the first step in an ambitious new Great Northumberland Forest. The first part of the Conservative plan will include government planting on existing or newly purchased government land.
• The second phase will involve the creation of a Northumberland Forestry Partnership to develop plans for the new forest, bringing together local residents, landowners and environmental groups to work with the Government to create the vision for the new forest region. There are up to 120,000 hectares of land in Northumberland that could be suitable for forests and other woodland creation, subject to landowner support.
• The new forests will be designed to UK forestry standards – which requires a mix of tree species and outlaws a reliance on conifers – to maximise the biodiversity opportunity from these new forests. We will not repeat the mistakes of successive governments who have over-relied on planting cheaper conifers to meet our targets for carbon capture, to the detriment of biodiversity.

Pocket parks

• Green spaces and parks help make our communities great places to live by providing local people with a place to socialise, exercise and enjoy the outdoors. Derelict land can be ugly, dangerous and should be put to good use.
• We will therefore provide funding for new projects led by community groups, in partnership with local authorities, to refurbish parks and encourage community activities.
• This is part of our ambition to ensure that communities have a real sense of identity and place, and that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy green spaces nearby.
• We want to improve the mental and physical health of communities using pocket parks by providing a sustainable and affordable sanctuary away from the hustle of urban life.  Pocket parks are small pieces of undeveloped or derelict land transformed into green space for public use. They are used for everything from children’s play areas, to vegetable patches and community events.
• More of these green spaces will be developed as part of a new active parks fund to regenerate existing parks and restore life and activity to community spaces.  We have listened to ccommunities and local authorities who would like to refurbish more of their existing parks and 80 per cent of grants from the 2018 Pocket Parks Plus programme went to maintenance projects.
• We established an initial £3.7 million fund to create new pocket parks and refurbish existing parks, with the winners announced in March 2019. Over 150 communities right across the country saw the benefits of this programme: funding was received from Bradford in West Yorkshire to Widnes in Cheshire to bring parks back to a state where local people enjoy using them. MHCLG, Nearly 200 pocket parks will help transform the nation, 26^th March 2019,  link.

Nuclear fusion

• This Conservative government will design and build a commercially viable fusion power plant by 2040, backed by an initial £200million over four years to develop this clean, safe and inexhaustible form of power that produces none of the long-lived radioactive waste produced by a conventional nuclear reactor.
• Nuclear reactor fusion offers clean, safe and carbon-free fuel supplies. Fusion is a zero-carbon, combustion free source of energy that uses inexhaustible hydrogen as its fuel source. It does not create greenhouse gases or radioactive waste.
• We will secure the UK’s position as the leading nation in the world when it comes to fusion technology by investing a further £19 million in 2020-2021 to create a unique global campus for private sector fusion R&D firms in Oxfordshire, attracting millions in inward investment, creating jobs and supporting exports. The UK’s new reactor will be smaller, cheaper and more commercially viable than traditional fusion reactor designs being built elsewhere, and we will use our leading position to export the technology to other countries.

• We will also invest £200 million to create a global centre for fusion expertise will be used to upgrade the Culham campus, where our current fusion research is based, transforming it into a unique global centre for private sector fusion R&D firms, attracting millions in inward investment and bringing expertise and innovation to the UK.
• The UK is already a world leader in fusion research and technology. At Budget 2018, we committed £20million to the development of a new UK based nuclear fusion reactor. We’ve also given £50 million to upgrade the UK’s domestic fusion research reactor and are building new fusion R&D facilities to secure the UK around £1 billion in international contracts.
• The Conservatives have increased annual investment in domestic fusion by more than 50% since 2010, from £33m to £54m. The money has been invested in research and the development of this exciting new technology, and is in addition to our major contributions to international projects.

Future Homes Standard

• The Government is updating building regulations to introduce a Future Homes Standard – a requirement that new homes should cut their CO ₂ emissions by 78% from 2025 through the introduction of low-carbon heating systems. This is would mean that England would have some of the highest energy standards internationally – leading the world in tackling climate change.
• We are requiring that new homes reduce their CO ₂ emissions by up to a third from 2020. We are currently consulting on the size of the uplift, but our preferred outcome is an uplift of a third. We will deliver this by ensuring all new homes are installed with either solar panels, waste water heat recovery systems or low carbon heat so residents pay less in their energy bills.
• We are putting in place new transitional arrangements to prevent developers from applying for permission early to avoid the new higher standards. We want to prevent housebuilders from shirking their responsibility to build to these new standards by submitting notices or plans before the new requirements come into force. This will ensure that we, and future generations, benefit from better standards.

• We are ending the UK’s contribution to global warming by legislating to achieve net zero by 2050 – the first major economy to do so. We will upgrade the existing target of an 80% reduction in emissions in the Climate Change Act to achieve 100%, or net zero emissions, by 2050. Prime Minister’s Office/BEIS, Press Release, 12 June 2019, link.
• We are keeping energy bills low by capping energy tariffs and ending rip off energy prices.  Around 11 million households who have stayed loyal to energy suppliers will now pay a fair price thanks to our price cap, with those on standard variable tariffs £75 to £100 better off. We have also capped the prices for prepayment customers – help keep costs down for some of the most vulnerable households by around £300 million a year. BEIS, Press Release, 1 January 2019, link; BEIS, Government Response, 7 February 2019, link; CMA, Press Release, 11 October 2016, link.  

• Labour wants to nationalise the National Grid – risking private investment and costing billions of pounds in the first year alone. It is also estimated that the nationalisation of energy would cost £7.8 billion in one year alone and would lead to a loss of around £3.4 billion a year that is currently invested by the National Grid – leading to less investment, more borrowing and higher bills for families. Adam Smith Institute, Utility Gains: Assessing the record of Britain’s privatized utilities, 20 September 2015, link; London Stock Exchange, accessed 15 May 2017.
• Household bills would rise by £2,000 a year as a result of Labour’s renationalisation plans. Analysis shows that Jeremy Corbyn’s plans for sweeping state ownership of utility firms threaten to send bills soaring by £2,000 and destroy savings for millions of households. Daily Express, 24 September 2018, link.