Business leaders unite to call for the North to lead the UK’s net zero transition

6th April 2023

Walney Wind Farm

An open letter authored by the NP11 has been signed by industry leaders from across the North, setting out an ambition for the North to lead the net zero transition for the whole UK, working closely with the Government.

• Following the publication of the Government’s Energy Strategy, 15 leading businesses, the 11 LEPs across the North, and the CBI have joined forces to set out the huge economic opportunity the North’s clean growth industries offer UK plc
• They have signed an open letter, asking the Government to back the North to realise the UK’s net zero transition and inviting the Prime Minister, Chancellor and Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero to meet and discuss how the North can play a leading role to boost economic growth, levelling up and international trade and investment
• Signatories represent businesses at the forefront of the UK’s net zero transition including manufacturing, engineering, logistics and energy
• The NP11’s ‘Net Zero North: Collaboration Powering Global Britain’ report estimates that an additional £6 billion of additional value can be unlocked in the region by investing in leadership and collaboration.

Following the publication of the Government’s Energy Strategy last week (30 March 2023), industry leaders from businesses including Siemens, Orsted, Peel, Drax and Equinor have written to the Government asking that it backs the North to lead the UK’s net zero transition.

The North already generates 50% of England’s renewable energy and is decarbonising at a rate 13% faster than the country as a whole. The business leaders signing the open letter are ambitious to go even further, arguing that the North can help UK take advantage of the huge economic opportunity the global transition to net zero represents, as underlined by the recent review by MP Chris Skidmore.

Coordinated by the NP11 group of Northern LEPs and backed by 15 leading northern businesses and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the letter outlines the potential for the North’s clean growth industries to drive transformational economic growth, increased international trade and investment and enhanced energy security, while also levelling up the North’s economy and meeting carbon reduction targets.

Independent research commissioned by the NP11 highlights the opportunity for the North to unlock an additional £6 billion in economic benefits for UK plc through targeted investment, collaboration and pan-northern leadership.

The letter states:

“The signatories of this letter believe that our country is at a critical juncture.

“Just as the North led national growth in the first Industrial Revolution, and transformed the future of the country, we can and will lead the transition towards low carbon energy, generating a surplus of secure clean energy and reaping economic rewards.

“We have the skills, the desire, and the drive to take this once in a generation opportunity. We are ambitious to capitalise on the huge international demand for the technologies northern business are developing.

“We would like to invite you to meet with us and other northern business leaders to discuss how the North can play a leading role in unlocking the full economic potential of net zero to address the challenges the country currently faces.”

Carl Ennis, CEO for Great Britain and Ireland at Siemens, who is a signatory of the letter, said:

“I’m proud to sign this letter alongside other business leaders who are playing a central role in the UK’s net zero transition. It’s no coincidence that the North is at the forefront of this transition. As a result of the North’s strong industrial heritage, the region has the skills, the infrastructure, the innovation capacity and strong public and private sector partnerships to respond to the transformation to a low carbon economy.

“As business leaders, we want to seize the economic opportunity set out in the Government’s Skidmore review. With countries such as the USA and China focusing significant investment on net zero innovation, we want to ensure the UK maintains its position of global leadership on this critical agenda and look forward to meeting with ministers to discuss how we can build on the work already underway.”

The NP11 and industry leaders have invited ministers to meet with them in the Humber in May to discuss how the North can enable the Government to deliver on its energy security, net zero and economic growth ambitions.

Clare Hayward MBE, Chair of Cheshire and Warrington LEP, said:

“The NP11, along with our public and private sector partners in the North, has been making the case that the North can be the driving force for the UK’s net zero transition.

“With the Government’s new Energy Strategy following hot on the heels of Chris Skidmore’s Net Zero Review, there’s never been a better time for northern business leaders to get around the table with Government and discuss how we can grab these once-in-a-generation opportunities for the benefit not just of the North but the whole country.”

James Newman OBE, Chair of Hull and East Yorkshire LEP, said:

“Thanks to our strong industrial legacy and significant private investment, the North offers the country an unbeatable opportunity to make sure the UK delivers on its climate obligations while unlocking unprecedented growth.

“The North is already pioneering industry-leading work in areas such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen, nuclear, offshore wind, tidal power and low carbon “jet zero” aviation fuels.

“There is ambition to go even further, and a fantastic business case to harness the ground-breaking work already underway to deliver tangible levelling up. The North offers the Government a ready-made solution to ensure the UK can grab a significant share of the economic growth that’s on the table with 90% of the world’s GDP now committed to net zero.”

The NP11’s ‘Net Zero North: Collaboration Powering Global Britain’ report sets out the practical steps needed to realise the benefits of the collaboration and how those steps can deliver economic growth, decarbonize faster and enhance security energy and establish the North as a global net-zero innovation hub.

You can read the full letter here

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