(London) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has presented a ten-point plan to make the country carbon neutral by 2050. They want to invest twelve billion pounds (2 billion euros) for this. The overall package is expected to create up to 13,5 British jobs.
More money for nuclear energy than for hydrogen
Offshore wind power is in first place. This should produce enough energy “to power every house, quadruple our production to 1 GW by 2030 and create up to 40 jobs.”
Point 2 is the development of the hydrogen economy. Accordingly, a low-carbon production capacity of five gigawatts should be built up by 2030. By the end of the decade, the British want to develop “the first city heated entirely with hydrogen”. 500 million pounds (560 million euros) are available for this, almost half of which goes to new production facilities for the production of hydrogen. It is not clear from the paper which power sources are used.
However, Johnson – in third place – also wants to continue to give nuclear energy “as a clean energy source” opportunities: 525 million pounds (590 million euros) will help to research and develop “next generation” large and medium-sized reactors. He sees the potential for 10.000 jobs in this.
Walking also saves CO2
The government's plan also includes "supporting our world-leading automotive production sites" to "accelerate the transition to electric vehicles." By 2030, Great Britain will end the sale of cars powered exclusively by gasoline and diesel. A good two billion pounds would be available for charging points, purchase incentives and the development of battery production.
Investments in emission-free public transport should make it more attractive. Cycling is also climate-friendly, says Johnson - and walking is also climate-friendly: “Making cycling and walking more attractive ways to travel” is point 5 of his agenda to save CO2.
600.000 heat pumps per year
Shipping and air traffic, on the other hand, are difficult to decarbonize. Both must become more environmentally friendly through research projects. Item 7 of the agenda is intended to make residential and public buildings, houses, schools and hospitals greener, warmer and more energy efficient. By 2028, 600.000 heat pumps are expected to be installed annually.
Johnson also wants to achieve the postulated goal of removing around ten million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by 2030 with carbon capture and storage (CCS) and become a “world leader” in this discipline - which may be successful, because of the benefits of this Technology is controversial among experts. The government plans to provide an additional £200 million to create two CCS clusters by the mid-2020s, with two more to follow by 2030. This will bring the investment total to £50.000 billion, which could support XNUMX jobs.
Plant 30.000 hectares of trees every year
The Prime Minister's final points include “protecting and restoring our natural environment by planting 30.000 hectares of trees each year while creating and maintaining thousands of jobs”. London is also set to develop into a global center for green financial products.
“My ten-point plan will create hundreds of thousands of green jobs while making progress towards zero emissions by 2050,” Johnson concluded. No details were given at the presentation, but further plans are to be published next year - the 26th UN Climate Change Conference 2020 (COP 26) will meet in Glasgow, Scotland, in November.
Photos
Downing Street No. 10, British Prime Minister's Residence / © Sergeant Tom Robinson RLC/MOD
