Inside the ClimateTech Policy Coalition's 2024 Annual Report
The ClimateTech Policy Coalition (CTPC) has released its annual report for 2024, and it is essential reading for anyone engaged in the UK's fight against climate change.
Representing an influential group of technology-focused organisations, this report functions as a strategic guide for political actions aimed at achieving net zero.
Organisations like techUK, Startup Coalition, Undaunted, Cleantech for UK, Tech Nation and Tech Zero contribute to the collective voice advocating policy changes.
Sarah Mackintosh, Director of Cleantech for UK, stresses the significance of the report. “The UK’s climate tech ecosystem stands at a critical juncture," she says.
"While the new Government sparked initial optimism, our research reveals a sector eager for clear policy direction and support.
"This report offers actionable, quick-win recommendations to help the UK seize immediate opportunities and lead in climate tech innovation, turning ideas into tangible economic and environmental progress."
Six recommendations from the report
The CTPC report proposes several targeted actions for the UK under the new government, focusing on economic growth and global competitiveness while tackling urgent climate challenges.
The report lays out a range of actionable recommendations crafted to foster innovation, align policies, and expedite progress towards the UK's ambitious net zero goals.
- Embed climate tech into industrial strategy: It is suggested that climate tech be embedded as a cornerstone in the UK's strategies for economic growth and decarbonisation, giving priority to transformative sectors like hydrogen, energy storage, and carbon capture. It's about aligning these innovative areas closely with long-term industrial goals to ensure sustainable growth.
- Address policy uncertainty: The Coalition calls for clear, actionable roadmaps for initiatives such as GB Energy and the Warm Homes Plan. It also advocates for the release of locked datasets and enhancing transparency, which could significantly boost the innovation and adoption of climate tech.
- Support start-ups and scale-ups: Recommendations include focusing on funding mechanisms such as the National Wealth Fund to reduce risks in early-stage projects and establishing regulatory sandboxes in areas like waste reuse and agricultural robotics. They also suggest streamlining grant structures for consistent support across all stages of innovation.
- Accelerate innovation in key areas: This includes leveraging smart data technologies for energy efficient solutions and consumer empowerment and reforming the Voluntary Carbon Markets to ensure integrity and promote high-quality credits. Another area is advancing greenhouse gas removal initiatives with strict standards for monitoring and verification.
- Remove regulatory barriers: This includes updating old definitions in the Plastic Packaging tax to support innovative materials, and streamlining processes for novel food approvals and farmed meat production to unlock sector growth.
- Public-private partnerships: Encouraging collaboration between government and industry is vital for quickly deploying transformative technologies and to attract private investment through mechanisms like first-loss guarantees and targeted loans.
- ECO: Energy Company Obligation – A UK government program aimed at reducing carbon emissions and tackling fuel poverty by requiring energy companies to deliver energy efficiency improvements to homes, such as insulation or heating upgrades.
- SHDF: Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund – A UK government initiative providing funding to upgrade the energy efficiency of social housing, reducing carbon emissions and improving living standards for tenants.
- HUG: Home Upgrade Grant – A scheme designed to provide grants for energy efficiency and low-carbon heating improvements in low-income households living in the least energy-efficient homes.
- PAS 2035: Publicly Available Specification 2035 – A UK specification that governs the standards for assessing, designing and installing energy efficiency measures in domestic retrofit projects. It ensures high-quality installations and better outcomes for homeowners and tenants.
- BRE: Building Research Establishment – A UK-based organization that provides expertise in the built environment, including energy efficiency, sustainability and construction standards. BRE often leads innovation and develops frameworks like the RetroNetZero network mentioned in the report.
What are the coalition's immediate priorities?
The CTPC report highlights certain areas that require more immediate action than others to make rapid advancements in climate technology.
The challenge that the UK faces in combating climate change entails addressing the significant market failure caused by the externalities of emitting greenhouse gases, which are currently not paid for by humans.
The options to address this failure include Compliance markets — which cover only 24% of global emissions — and the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM), where actors voluntarily purchase credits to support carbon removal or emission avoidance projects.
Despite the VCM's growth through industry collaboration and standards, it still faces challenges like greenwashing and low confidence in credit quality.
Crucially, the emerging consensus within the climate tech sector is to include high-quality, integrity-focused carbon removal credits in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS).
Transitioning to this model will necessitate the government to establish robust criteria for qualification and standards for monitoring, verification, and reporting (MRV).
By fully embracing the directives from the CTPC report, the UK can position itself as a global leader in climate tech and sustainability, promoting not just an environmental agenda, but also fostering innovation, economic growth, and global competitiveness.
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