PM to visit for cabinet away day focusing on green investment
BORIS Johnson will gather his Cabinet for a meeting away from Downing Street as he seeks to portray the UK as a beacon for green investment.
Ministers will gather here in the South West, with the Prime Minister claiming a combination of government support and a “British zeal for innovation and commerce” have put the UK at the forefront of a green industrial revolution.
Mr Johnson will chair the meeting after returning from a holiday in Marbella, a trip that raised eyebrows in Westminster at a time when businesses and consumers are struggling with rising energy bills and a crisis in supply chains.
Since November 2020, when Mr Johnson set out a 10-point plan for a greener economy, there has been some £5.8 billion of investment either already landed by the UK or committed. Downing Street said the investments already announced would create or secure 56,000 jobs.
The focus on green jobs comes just weeks before the UK hosts the United Nations Cop26 climate change summit in Glasgow.
Ahead of the summit the Government is expected to publish its longawaited net zero strategy, setting out how it will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Hailing the latest investment data, Mr Johnson said: “These new figures are yet more evidence that going green means creating high-quality jobs across the United Kingdom.
“We are at the forefront of seizing these new opportunities, supported by major government investment and a British zeal for innovation and commerce.”
Among investments highlighted by the Government were Nissan and Envision’s commitment to an electric vehicle hub in Sunderland, chemical giant Ineos’s £1 billion plan to convert its Grangemouth refinery to run on hydrogen and the £100 million announced by Vauxhall’s parent firm Stellantis to turn the Ellesmere Port plant into a dedicated electric vehicle factory.
The Cabinet meeting comes ahead of a Global Investment Summit taking place in London next week, aimed at attracting further overseas cash.