Miguel Afonso Caetano"Most importantly, while the UK’s recent progress on clean power is undoubtedly impressive, a truly transformative strategy to achieve net zero cannot stop at the power sector. A large share of the UK’s emissions come from transport and housing (30 per cent and 21 per cent respectively in 2024), so net zero must ultimately be about transforming how we move, build and live. A strong clean power grid provides a crucial foundation, yet it is only the first layer. It remains unclear how other carbon-intensive parts of the UK’s economy, including health, defence and heavy industry, will meaningfully decarbonise beyond plugging into a greener grid.
This is where the UK’s public finance institutions such the British Business Bank and the National Wealth Fund can play a crucial role if they are aligned with a clear mission-oriented framework. Deployed strategically and resourced sufficiently, they could accelerate net zero across the whole economy rather than through isolated initiatives in the energy sector.
Offshore wind can and should be a role model for a new approach to delivering on missions. But to deliver on this potential, the government must get public-private partnerships right and follow through on its promise to generate public value. And it must apply this approach not just to clean power, but to an intersectoral approach that decarbonises and creates opportunities across all parts of the economy."
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