Mark Gibson, Business Development Director, RSK Group, said:
“The UK needs a detailed net zero investment plan, providing clear focus on where financing is needed, how much, when and what it will achieve.
“Realising objectives in the UK’s 25 Year Environment Plan, National Adaptation Programme, Net Zero Strategy and Energy Security Strategy requires considerable amounts of financing to be mobilised. Estimates for the Net Zero Strategy, for instance, indicate that annual investment needs to increase from current levels in the order of £10–15 billion to a minimum £50–60 billion to 2030.
“Currently in the UK, private sector investment for the protection and restoration of nature is a long way short of where it needs to be – targets of a minimum annual £500 million of private finance by 2027 and greater than £1 billion a year by 2030 have been set by the government.
“How can the government facilitate those investments? Part of the answer lies in producing a detailed investment plan: one that shows targets by sector and their capital requirements, the incentives available and policy levers that can be used to mobilise investment.”