PA Consulting asks for climate focused Autumn…

Ahead of the Autumn Statement 2022, PA Consulting (PA), the consultancy that’s bringing ingenuity to life, wants the UK Government to focus on climate action to help grow the UK economy and tackle economic instability.

Pushing forward the climate agenda goes hand in hand in with long-term economic growth. Supporting climate focused solutions leads to innovation, new industries, new jobs and improves quality of life. During such challenging economic times the government must not overlook the importance of this and instead find the opportunities it creates. Decisions it makes now will significantly impact our ability to meet climate goals.”

Jonathan Gillham Chief Economist at PA Consulting

In a push for a green economy PA asks to see:

Incentives for greening supply chains: Many greener technologies are still in their infancy and too expensive to encourage widespread adoption. Tax breaks for businesses meeting recycled and sustainable content criteria or green energy purchases would help the UK meet CO2 emission targets and encourage more rapid R&D of emissions saving technologies.

Support for financial services to invest in Net-Zero and Carbon Negative projects: Financial services have a key role to play in tackling the climate crisis but while there is uncertainty around the net rate of return for green projects there needs to be incentives for banks, asset managers and insurers to take on credit risks in these areas.

Investment in innovative infrastructure: the UK has made boosting R&D a priority but, some investments, while serving a broad range of businesses and academics, are simply too big for one business to fund. Quantum computing is a perfect example of this, multiple organisations would benefit from accelerated access to quantum technologies enabling them to find innovative solutions to climate change faster.
Regional skills investment for green jobs: skills shortages are holding up the post-COVID economic recovery. The green job market is growing rapidly, and new skills are needed to ensure demand can be met, including training in key technologies such as 4IR, the metaverse, and AI. Collaboration between universities and FE colleges is critical in ensuring the workforce of the future has the skills employers require.
Cycling and walking a viable option to improve quality of life: there must be a renewed focus and investment to ensure that that by 2030, 50% of trips in towns and cities are on foot or by bicycle. This will have huge benefits in terms of local economic vitality, social inclusion, public health, air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Alongside this we need resources and capabilities in place to deliver the ambitious goals in the transport decarbonisation plan, including the transition to zero-carbon vehicles.