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Webinar: Innovating Industrial Decarbonisation - horizon scanning the policy landscape

29 February 20241 min read
Guest Insights
Webinar: Innovating Industrial Decarbonisation - horizon scanning the policy landscape

The second webinar of techUK's Innovating Industrial Decarbonisation series, we explored the current policy landscape ahead of Mayoral elections in May, an expected General Election and the Chancellor's Spring Budget next week.

We heard from a stellar lineup of presenters including:

  • Ben Gascoyne, Associate Director - Net Zero Transition at Madano

  • Laith Kharus Whitwham, Senior Policy Advisor at E3G

  • Nina Gryf, Senior Policy Manager at MakeUK

Watch the full webinar here:

Key take-home points included:

  • Heavy industries play a key role in the UK economy. They make up 16% of UK territorial emissions and must reduce emissions by 90% by 2040.

  • Industry 4.0... or 3.5, with the likes of automation and digital twins, are already improving logistical and operational efficiency and addressing safety concerns across industry.

  • Policy priorities for modern, growing industry should focus on broad categories of supply, demand, and competitiveness. 

  • Immediate priorities for the next government (beyond an expected General election) include the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, a future industrial strategy, and the Climate Change Committee's 7th Carbon Budget expected early 2025.

  • Key policy briefs that still need to progress include the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, Sustainable Aviation Fuels Mandate, GGRs, and cluster-based tracks.

  • A statutory Industrial Strategy will be influential across R&D, skills, technology and regulatory gaps, and sunrise/sunset sectors.

  • Critical infrastructure must be accessible to industry. Sites are typically dispersed but need clean power network, hydrogen, and CO2 transport/storage infrastructure to be addressed.

Keep up to date with the latest for our Innovating Industrial Decarbonisation series through our series page.