UK industry will receive around £350 million to cut down carbon emissions under new plans to step up efforts to tackle climate change, PM Boris Johnson announced today (22 July).

The multimillion pound investment package will build on the Prime Minister’s work throughout his first year in office to drive forward progress on the UK’s target to reach net zero by 2050, by helping businesses to decarbonise across the heavy industry, construction, space and transport sectors and to secure the UK’s place at the forefront of green innovation.

The investment comes ahead of the PM launching the first meeting of the Jet Zero Council later today, which will bring together government, representatives from the environmental sector and the aviation and aerospace industry to tackle aviation emissions in line with the government’s ambition to achieve the first ever zero emission long haul passenger plane.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

We’ve made great strides towards our net zero target over the last year, but it’s more important than ever that we keep up the pace of change to fuel a green, sustainable recovery as we rebuild from the pandemic.

The UK now has a huge opportunity to cement its place at the vanguard of green innovation, setting an example worldwide while growing the economy and creating new jobs.

That’s why we’re backing cutting edge research to cut costs and carbon across our great British industries, and even paving the way for the first ever zero emission long haul passenger flight – so that our green ambitions remain sky high as we build back better for both our people and our planet.

Business and Energy Secretary, Alok Sharma, said:

Climate change is among the greatest challenges of our age. To tackle it we need to unleash innovation in businesses across the country.

This funding will reduce emissions, create green collar jobs and fuel a strong, clean economic recovery – all essential to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face today, and tackling it will require action from everybody. This is why we’re bringing together Government, businesses and investors in a ground breaking new partnership.

The Jet Zero Council is a huge step forward in making change – as we push forward with innovative technologies such as sustainable fuels and eventually fully electric planes, we will achieve guilt-free flying and boost sustainability for years to come.

The projects set to receive funding will work on developing new technologies that could help companies switch to more energy-efficient means of production, use data more effectively to tackle the impacts of climate change, and help support the creation of new green jobs by driving innovation and growth in UK industries.

The package includes:

• £139 million to cut emissions in heavy industry by supporting the transition from natural gas to clean hydrogen power, and scaling up carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology which can stop over 90% of emissions being released from industrial plants into the air by storing carbon permanently underground

• £149 million to drive the use of innovative materials in heavy industry; the 13 initial projects will include proposals to reuse waste ash in the glass and ceramics industry, and the development of recyclable steel

• £26 million to support advanced new building techniques in order to reduce build costs and carbon emissions in the construction industry

• A £10 million boost for state of the art construction tech which will go towards 19 projects focused on improving productivity and building quality, for example, re-usable roofs and walls and “digital clones” of buildings that analyse data in real time

• Launching a New National Space Innovation Programme backed by £15 million initial funding from the UK Space Agency, which will see the first £10million go towards projects that will monitor climate change across the globe, which could protect local areas from the impacts of extreme weather by identifying changes in the environment

• Opening up bids for a further £10million for R&D in the automotive sector, to help companies take cutting edge ideas from prototype to market, including more efficient electric motors or more powerful batteries

Chaired by the Transport and Business Secretaries, today’s first ever Jet Zero council meeting will discuss how to decarbonise the aviation sector while supporting its growth and strengthening the UK’s position as a world leader in the sector.

The members will look at how to work across their sectors to achieve these goals, including through brand new aircraft and engine technologies. These could include using new synthetic and sustainable aviation fuels as a clean substitute for fossil jet fuel, and eventually the development of electric planes.

One year on from taking office, today’s announcements form part of the PM’s wider efforts to ensure the UK meets its legally binding target to reach net zero emissions by 2050, whilst also driving forward a green recovery from the pandemic.

So far this year, this includes committing to consult on ending the sale of new petrol, diesel or hybrid cars by 2035 or earlier; launching the Transport Decarbonisation Plan to cut emissions across the sector; providing over £1 billion at Budget to support the rollout of ultra-low emission vehicles in the UK via support for a super-fast charging network for electric vehicles; and committing up to £100 million of new funding for research to develop a brand new clean technology, Direct Air Capture.

Over the past decade, the UK has cut carbon emissions by more than any similar developed country. In 2019, UK emissions were 42% lower than in 1990, while our economy over the same period grew by 72%.

The arrival of the Commonwealth Games will be matched with a major upgrade to Birmingham’s University station, Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris announced today (22 July 2020), as he unveiled £12 million of government investment to help ease congestion, boost the economy and make existing journeys more reliable for thousands of passengers.

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), which is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), is leading a consortium including the University of Birmingham, Birmingham City Council, Network Rail, West Midlands Trains and the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP to fund the project to redevelop and expand the station and provide additional passenger capacity in time for the Commonwealth Games in 2022.

The £56 million project will deliver a larger, modern station and enhanced facilities including more lifts, a ticket office, shop and public toilets, helping to give competitors and sports fans an experience to remember.

Opened in 1978, University Station in Birmingham was designed to serve 500,000 passengers per year but now, over 40 years later, this has increased to almost 4 million people – with demand expected to rise further in the coming years.

Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said:

Birmingham has the privilege of welcoming our Commonwealth friends from around the world in 2022 and so we are delivering a station that will be a worthy gateway to the Games for athletes and fans alike.

And, long after the games have gone, passengers will arrive into a modern station that provides better connections and makes journeys easier and more reliable.

This station development demonstrates our ambition to build great infrastructure for the future that will transform travel for those who use it and is just part of our wider agenda to level up all parts of the UK.

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said:

This funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) means we have taken another major step towards building a new University station ready for the Commonwealth Games in 2022.

Over the last decade or so we have seen huge growth in both the university campus and the hospital site, making University one of the busiest railway stations on our network. Because of this, it is clear that the station is becoming increasingly not fit for purpose and the latest funding announced by the DfT today will help us take another step towards delivering a new University Station.

Councillor Ian Ward, WMCA portfolio lead for transport and leader of Birmingham City Council, said:

This new station will not only provide a magnificent gateway to Birmingham for those visitors coming for the Commonwealth Games, but for the many more who pass through here day in, day out.

Getting more people onto trains across the region is one of the key elements of our work to reduce traffic congestion and reliance on the car, as we improve our air quality and progress towards a zero-carbon economy.

The contracts for the detailed design and build of the scheme will be awarded later this summer, with works starting in the autumn. The station will be ready to welcome the Commonwealth Games’ athletes and spectators and be fully open later in 2022.

Today’s announcement comes as development work gets underway with Network Rail to roll out digital signalling on further routes including sections of the West Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line and Anglia, from 2026, leading to safer, more reliable and more resilient railways.

The government announced last month that £12 million is being invested in fitting out 33 new trains for the Midland Main Line with digital signalling equipment.

A number of stations in the Midlands are also benefiting from millions of pounds of funding to improve accessibility for those with disabilities, such as through new step-free routes. Stations to benefit include Retford, Ludlow, Smethwick Rolfe Street, Wellington, Narborough, Lichfield Trent Valley and Wolverhampton.

All projects in the programme are expected to complete by 2024 at the latest.  

• International Trade Secretary visits Ford engine production centre in Dagenham to announce new export finance
• The loan will support investment into the development of electrification and smart mobility solutions
• Export finance provided through new Export Development Guarantee designed to boost high-value UK exports

International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss, today announced that Ford has received a £625 million loan facility from commercial banks with support from a £500 million guarantee from UK Export Finance (UKEF) during a visit to Ford of Britain’s engine production plant in Dagenham.

UKEF will provide the guarantee under its Export Development Guarantee (EDG), a new facility launched today that will support high value commercial lending to UK exporters.

Before now, UKEF’s support had to be tied to an individual export contract. UKEF is now able to support a company’s general export activities using the EDG, unlocking its financial support for companies that wish to:

• secure working capital to bid for multiple export contracts
• scale up their existing export activities
• invest in new premises and technologies linked to exports

Ford of Britain is one of the UK’s largest exporters and the company already exports to more than 15 countries in 6 continents, with overseas sales generating around £2.5 billion annually.

The loan will increase Ford’s capacity to:

• export from the UK
• support investment into electrification, digital manufacturing and smart mobility solutions
• upskill its UK workforce to safeguard thousands of highly skilled jobs at the Ford Britain Dunton Campus in Essex and engine production centre in Dagenham

Ford of Britain manufactures its engines for global export at Dagenham and the company designs its next generation commercial vehicles, such as the best-selling Ford Transit cargo van – at Dunton. Ford is reinventing its product development and manufacturing processes in the UK to reduce vehicle emissions and make the UK campus its global innovation centre. To that end, Ford will be launching its first all-electric Transit Van in 2021.

International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss, said:

This deal firmly puts the UK at the heart of Ford’s plans to grow its export business, reduce emissions and support skilled manufacturing jobs.

A thriving automotive industry is vital to the success of the UK economy. It brings prosperity and security to manufacturers across the country. That’s why we are putting its needs at the heart of our strategy to remove barriers to trade when negotiating free trade deals.

Chairman, Ford of Britain, Graham Hoare, said:

Ford’s manufacturing operations are already an export success story, with around 85% of engines and 100% of transmissions built in the UK exported. This financing will help to maintain Ford as a key UK exporter.

I would like to thank UKEF for their confidence, and Citi who acted as coordinator and facility agent for the £625 million loan facility with a repayment term of 5 years.

Mandated lead arrangers and lenders for the loan were Barclays Bank plc, Citibank N.A. London Branch, National Westminster Bank plc, Lloyds Bank plc and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation London Branch.

About UKEF

UK Export Finance is the UK’s export credit agency. It exists to ensure that no viable UK export lacks for finance or insurance from the private market, providing finance and insurance to help exporters win, fulfil and get paid for export contracts.

Background to the Export Development Guarantee:

UKEF’s EDG product will deliver a number of benefits for UK exporters:

• UK exporters will be able to access a flexible product to support their large-scale working capital and investment needs, encouraging increased exports from the UK without support being tied to a specific export contract

• Lenders will be able to provide increased amounts of export-related finance, supporting exporters through the economic recovery

EDG will take the form of a guarantee of up to 80% to support bank loans for general working capital or capital expenditure / investment requirements to UK companies who meet UKEF’s definition of an exporter, together with other eligibility criteria. The product has a minimum transaction size of £25 million and a maximum repayment period of 5 years.

To satisfy UKEF’s definition of a UK exporter, the applicant must have generated:

Thank you, Mr President. I’d like to welcome you to the Council today and thank you for giving me the floor. Thank you also to Nikolai for your briefing and of course for the continued efforts you and your team are making on the ground. And I want to thank also our two civil society briefers who I thought were very interesting and passionate in what they had to say, and for their work. And of course, it’s always nice to hear from my good colleagues, the DPRs of Israel and the Observer State of Palestine. Thank you all.

Mr President, as we have heard, this is a fragile and worrying period. I want to say, firstly, we remain deeply concerned about the prospect of annexation. Not only would this be damaging to efforts to restart peace negotiations and contradict international law, it would also compound the already fragile health and humanitarian situation. The priority must be on preventing annexation and finding alternative ways for the parties to engage. And I reiterate that the United Kingdom will not recognise any changes to the 1967 lines except those agreed between both parties.

Ultimately, we want to see both sides make meaningful steps towards a just, fair and agreed settlement. As my Prime Minister said to both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas earlier this month, we want to see Israelis and Palestinians return to the negotiating table. And the United Kingdom offers its full support in fostering such dialogue.

Now is the time for Israel to make clear that it will not take any unilateral steps towards annexation. Now is the time for both parties to resume cooperation, particularly in regards to security. And now is the time for the Palestinians to reach out to the United States and to Israel so that we can begin the journey back to negotiations.

Mr President, in creating the environment of trust needed for dialogue, we call on both parties to avoid further provocative rhetoric or actions. We call for accountability against incitement on both sides and for Israel to freeze all settlement activity, stop demolitions and actively prevent settler violence. The advancement of settlement plans, including in Givat Hamatos, Bar Homa and E1 is of particular concern. All settlements are illegal under international law. Settlement construction in these highly sensitive areas threatens to further undermine the viability of a future Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem.

In instances where there have been accusations of excessive use of force by the Israeli authorities – as appears to be the case in the killing of the Eyad Falak in May – we expect full, transparent investigations. There must be serious reflection on what causes such use of force to be deemed necessary. Meanwhile, we saw a steady increase in indirect fire attacks from Gaza into Israel from late May until early July. This shows the very real and unacceptable intent of militant Palestinian groups towards Israeli civilians. Every Israeli and Palestinian has the right to live in peace and security.

Mr President, COVID-19 remains a serious and significant threat in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. The cooperation between UN agencies, the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel during the first wave was welcomed, ensuring that essential medical supplies and staff were able to access Gaza and the West Bank. Faced with rising numbers of COVID cases, we call on the parties to resume cooperation, making joint efforts to protect equally both Israelis and Palestinians.

Mr President, I’d like to finish by reiterating once again the United Kingdom’s longstanding position on the Middle East peace process. We support a negotiated settlement leading to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state based on 1967 lines with agreed land swaps, Jerusalem as the shared capital of both states and a just fair, agreed and realistic settlement for refugees. And the United Kingdom stands ready to support that objective in any way that we can.

Thank you, Mr President.