So what to make of UK's #10PointPlan for 'Green Industrial Revolution"?

Is it the strongest vision yet set out by a UK PM? Yes

Is it plan to get to #NetZero by 2050? Not even close

THREAD 1/n https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-outlines-his-ten-point-plan-for-a-green-industrial-revolution-for-250000-jobs

#10PointPlan
The positives...

A strong statement of political intent and a strong signal to the market that the future UK economy will be green

Intriguing that @BorisJohnson mentions the “carbon prices that we will put on emissions” in his FT piece

2/n https://www.ft.com/content/6c112691-fa2f-491a-85b2-b03fc2e38a30

#10PointPlan
The positives...

Also a clear statement that going green means jobs - that is a winning argument

But needs to convince the Treasury, which despite a decade of evidence that green biz is good biz, has been a key obstacle to action

3/n

Everyone knows a detailed, costed plan that connects actions and carbon reductions is needed - CO2 in the air is the only true measure of success

Even @AlokSharma calls the #10PointPlan “part of a roadmap”

@theCCCuk -
"This must now be turned into a detailed road map"

4/n

#10PointPlan

Funding is not everything but it really matters and UK's proposal is "tiny" to quote former climate minister @ClaireClimate

France, Germany, and Biden's US all investing far more

UK's is less than half it's road budget

5/n

so to the #10PointPlan

Offshore wind is a UK triumph
But why nothing about even cheaper onshore wind and solar?

Hydrogen may be promising. But @MLiebreich is persuasive that you should electrify everything you can -inc cars, cookers, heating - then let H2 do the rest
6/n

#10PointPlan

Nuclear has promised to get cheaper and faster for decades, whilst delivering the opposite

We need carbon cuts now and I think nuclear will either be too expensive or too late - probably both

7/n

#10PointPlan

Ban on petrol/diesel cars by in 2030

Excellent - puts UK on a par with other countries like Germany, France

Electric cars are *already* cheaper to own and run (electricity much cheaper than petrol)

Motor industry has dragged its feet but now knows its future
8/n

#10pointplan

Public transport, cycling and walking
Building energy efficiency

Both easy to talk about, both hard to deliver

Conservative manifesto pledge £9bn for the latter - where is it?

9/n

#10pointplan

"Jet Zero" aviation and greener shipping

Betting on distant future tech does not solve today's need for carbon cuts

The international nature of both has allowed the industries to produce frankly pathetic plans - political action is needed

10/n

#10pointplan

Carbon capture and storage should be a UK strength - we have been taking carbon out of the North Sea for 50 years - now it's time to put it back

But will this government's commitment falter as in the past with @George_Osborne ?

11/n

#10pointplan

Nature - this part is seriously underfunded, and past pledges for tree planting have been missed

Finance - UK is a leader in greening finance, which is important

12/n

so to criticism #10pointplan

@KevinClimate calls the plan a rhetorical flourish in the form of a future tech wish list

@CarolineLucas calls it a shopping list

And why is there nothin on food and farming, a really critical and hard sector to decarbonise?

13/n

#10pointplan

when will we know the UK really has a #NetZero plan?

when it has set out how the emissions are going to be cut, sector by sector, and every government decision has to pass a net zero climate test

that is not happening with #COVID19 rescue and recovery funding
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