LONDON, (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson today set out his ambition on Tuesday for a green revolution that would force Western economies to kick their centuries old addiction to fossil fuels.
Johnson, who once expressed scepticism about climate change, cast his 368-page net zero strategy as a document that would put the United Kingdom at the vanguard of green economies, forcing competitors such as China and Russia to follow London’s lead.
“The UK leads the world in the race to net zero,” Johnson said in a foreword to the “Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener”.
“The likes of China and Russia are following our lead with their own net zero targets, as prices tumble and green tech becomes the global norm.”
The document is essentially a series of long-term promises, some caveated, to shift the world’s fifth largest economy towards green technologies – from moving to clean electricity “subject to security and supply” to “setting a path” to low carbon heating in British homes.
The government said it would secure a final investment decision on a large-scale nuclear plant by the end of this parliament while seeking 40GW of wind by 2030 as well as 1GW of floating wind power.
Britain will deliver 5GW of hydrogen production capacity by 2030 whilst halving emissions from oil and gas. The government has an ambition to deploy at least 5Mt of CO2 a year of engineered greenhouse gas removals by 2030.
