Recent Release | 16 Aug 2023

Funding the Future: The UK’s energy transition in a global context

Industry Consulting Team

Oxford Economics

Substantial investment is needed to fund the transition to a net zero economy. There has been a recent flurry of new, large scale investment incentive schemes for clean technologies around the world. These include the $369bn Inflation Reduction Act in the United States and the European Union’s €270bn REPower EU initiative. Multi-billion dollar incentives in other markets including Japan, China, and India make the global competition for clean investments even more intense.

The UK has significant strengths as it faces the challenges of decarbonisation. These include its world-leading universities and financial services, its early success in offshore wind and established industries (such as in the digital and oil and gas sectors) that can support clean growth. However, it risks falling behind in years to come as many countries—helped by generous incentive schemes—are increasing their clean technology capacity at a faster rate than the UK.

The paper argues that as a result of increasing incentives for clean technology investment in other jurisdictions, future investment in UK clean technology is looking increasingly under threat. In the face of stiff competition, the UK must act now to attract future investment.

The expert behind the research

Our Industry Consulting team are among the world’s leading analysts of a variety of industrial sectors. They combine their expert insight with our state-of-the-art economic models and tools to answer the crucial questions facing our clients.

Emily Gladstone

Senior Economist, Industry

Andy Logan

Director of Industry Consulting, Economic Impact

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