Today the Prime Minister has published and set out his ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution which will create and support up to 250,000 British jobs.
From transport, clean energy and innovative technologies, the Prime Minisiter’s blueprint will allow the UK to forge ahead with eradicating its contribution to climate change by 2050, particularly crucial in the run up to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow next year.
The Prime Minister drew out his ten points. The particular ones to highlight for the rail industry are as follows:
- Hydrogen: Working with industry aiming to generate 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 for industry, transport, power and homes, and aiming to develop the first town heated entirely by hydrogen by the end of the decade.
- Electric vehicles: Backing our world-leading car manufacturing bases including in the West Midlands, North East and North Wales to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, and transforming our national infrastructure to better support electric vehicles.
- Public transport, cycling and walking: Making cycling and walking more attractive ways to travel and investing in zero-emission public transport of the future.
- Carbon capture: Becoming a world-leader in technology to capture and store harmful emissions away from the atmosphere, with a target to remove 10MT of carbon dioxide by 2030, equivalent to all emissions of the industrial Humber today.
- Innovation and finance: Developing the cutting-edge technologies needed to reach these new energy ambitions and make the City of London the global centre of green finance.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Although this year has taken a very different path to the one we expected, I haven’t lost sight of our ambitious plans to level up across the country. My Ten Point Plan will create, support and protect hundreds of thousands of green jobs, whilst making strides towards net zero by 2050.
“Our green industrial revolution will be powered by the wind turbines of Scotland and the North East, propelled by the electric vehicles made in the Midlands and advanced by the latest technologies developed in Wales, so we can look ahead to a more prosperous, greener future.”
Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association (RIA), said: “The Prime Minister’s Ten Point Decarbonisation Plan sets out a bold strategy for decarbonising the UK. Rail can play a key role in this vision, it is already a low carbon form of mass transit, and can reduce its emissions even further with a rolling programme of electrification and fleet orders of low carbon rolling stock including effective use of hydrogen and battery.
“We look forward to working with the Government as it publishes its Transport Decarbonisation Plan early next year, and would urge that rail plays a key role in supporting the UK’s journey to net zero.”
Nick Crossfield, Managing Director, Alstom UK & Ireland said: “The Prime Minister is right to highlight hydrogen transport as a key part of his exciting plan for green jobs. Our Breeze hydrogen trains are shovel ready and if the Government orders a fleet now, we will begin building them immediately in Widnes, creating hundreds of new jobs across the north of the country. Alstom stands ready to help deliver this Green Industrial Revolution.”
If you would like to the ten-point plan in full, click here.
