Sophie Lawrence, stewardship and engagement lead at Rathbone Greenbank Investments, looks ahead to the budget this week.
“The Spring Budget is a real test of the government’s willingness to back up recent rhetoric on the net zero transition with tangible actions by announcing a clear plan to deliver green economic growth. This should include commitments to invest in green skills, and funding to deliver more energy efficient homes – both of which are recommendations contained in Chris Skidmore’s recent Net Zero Review, which was commissioned by the government to set out a roadmap for decarbonisation that will create benefits for the economy and society.
“With ambitious steps being taken elsewhere, including the Inflation Reduction Act in the US and the RePowerEU deal, the UK risks falling behind in terms of leveraging the transition as a means for economic growth if action isn’t forthcoming.
“Any plans which are announced need to be underpinned by the necessary public and private investment to deliver them. Putting the UK economy on a credible pathway to net zero emissions is going to require sustained policy interventions across several sectors, but these will, in turn, help to unlock additional private investment flows as certainty on the long-term policy outlook increases.”
