More than £500 million is to be invested into green technologies, including £400 million to develop rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, the government has announced.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has also revealed £142.9 million is to be invested in research and development to combat air and water pollution.
The first £70 million allocated to the EV charging investment will fund 3,000 charge points which BEIS claims will more than double the number across the UK to 5,000.
This latest investment complements £1.5 billion to boost the uptake of EVs as part of the government’s ambition to end the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040.
Also announced is £31.5 million for research into technologies to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, and £22 million to research new kinds of air pollutants and minimise their effects on public health.
In response to the announcement, business, energy and clean growth minister Kwasi Kwarteng said: “The UK has been going further and faster in tackling climate change by becoming the first major economy to legislate for net zero emissions by 2050 and helping us seize the opportunities of a greener future.
“With air pollution thought to kill as many as seven million people a year globally, it’s clear more needs to be done.
“That’s why we’re backing these initiatives, aimed at making improvements from battling air pollutants to protecting our invaluable sea life.
“These pioneering projects will help us maintain our world-leading position in this field, and to make further strides towards a more sustainable future for our planet.”
In addition, five projects will benefit from the £142.9 million cash injection aiming to remove greenhouses gasses from the air.
- Greenhouse gas removal technologies (£31.52 million) – this will support the UK in its net zero ambitions, by driving forward approaches to remove greenhouse gases from the sky on a large scale
- Clean air: Addressing the challenge of indoor and outdoor pollution (£22 million) – the next decade will see declining transport pollution but increases in other areas like household products and adhesives. This project will look at tackling emerging air pollutants indoors and outdoors, such as air fresheners and cleaning products, to minimise their effects on public health
- Cleaner food systems for healthy people and a healthy planet (£47 million) –this will transform UK diets to be healthier and more sustainable through changes in production, manufacturing, retail and consumption. It will deliver coherent evidence to enable concerted action from policy, business and civil society to help the UK meet its targets on obesity and greenhouse gas emissions
- Reusing and recycling materials in innovative ways (£30 million) – this programme will drive forward new research to support opportunities to re-use and recycle materials across sectors such as food, water, textiles and electronics – as well accelerating new, greener manufacturing technologies
- Sustainable management of marine resources (£12.43 million) – ensuring the UK realises sustainable societal and economic benefits through better management of the UK’s marine resources, including working more closely with government, industry and the public