International trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan has said green trade is central to growing the UK’s economy, achieving net zero and driving prosperity.
In a speech at an event held by the recently launched Bloomberg UK, Trevelyan said driving renewable energy would also “De-Putinise” the global economy by cutting reliance on Russian oil and gas.
The government claims the UK’s green economy could grow by 11% per year to 2030, employing 1.2 million people by 2050.
Reduce fossil fuel dependence
Trevelyan said the Ukraine conflict underlined the need to phase out imports of Russian oil and gas.
“These past months have highlighted the need to accelerate our journey as a global community away from hydrocarbons. To decisively turn our backs on the era of dependence on polluting fuels, and transition to a net zero future,” she said.
Green trade expo
Trevelyan also announced that a new Green Trade and Investment Expo will be held in the North East this autumn, hosted alongside the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The Expo will bring together UK businesses and global investors to build on the £9.7bn of investment secured for the offshore wind, hydrogen and electric vehicles sectors at the Global Investment Summit last year.
Bloomberg reports that the UK wants to “reap the rewards of global green growth” in low-carbon exports that’s projected to reach almost £2 trillion a year by 2030.
UKEF backing
The minister also announced two new ‘green’ deals for British exporters to be delivered by the government’s export credit agency UK Export Finance (UKEF).
The support includes:
- A £138m loan guarantee for electric power manufacturer Megger
- A £50m sustainability-linked loan to construction company Mace
Megger hope to use the loan towards building a new £15 million factory that will boost its worldwide exports and support 350 UK jobs.
Green trade opportunity
The Department for International Trade’s (DIT) Board of Trade highlighted the opportunities for green trade in a report last year.
Trevelyan’s predecessor Liz Truss welcomed the report at the time, saying: “Green trade presents a major opportunity for the UK, creating high-value jobs in the low-carbon economy, driving sustainable growth in all corners of the nation, and fuelling technological innovations that can be exported to the world.”
Clean Growth
The UK also stepped up its green ambitions when launching the ‘Clean Growth’ programme at COP26 in November.
The scheme will see trade and investment teams in British embassies promote domestic clean-growth companies and connect UK exporters to international opportunities.
