Monday 4 November 2019

Government announces £315m to help industry cut emissions and bills

The government has announced £315 million of new funding to help energy-intensive industries reduce power bills and lower carbon emissions.

It expects the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) will help heavy industry cut two million tonnes of carbon emissions between 2028 and 2032, the equivalent of taking nearly 200,000 cars off the road every year.

Businesses account for a quarter of all UK greenhouse gas emissions, with the cement, ceramics, chemicals, food and drink, glass, iron and steel, oil refining and pulp and paper sectors currently emitting around two-thirds of all industrial carbon emissions.

The government notes it is vital to clean up these sectors on the journey towards going net zero by 2050 and is now seeking views in a consultation to work out how the fund will operate.

Business, Energy and Clean Growth Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said: "The UK is already cutting emissions faster than any other major economy and we’re the first to legislate to end our contribution to climate change entirely.

"Eliminating emissions from industry is key to achieving this, but doing so does not have to mean compromising our business success. That’s why we’re bolstering our investment in clean growth."

The announcement follows plans set out last week to enable companies to save up to £1 billion a year in energy bills by 2030 through improving the energy efficiency of commercial buildings.