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Latest news

As well as being our largest project to date, the deal marks another major step in our ambitious growth plans to double generation capacity within the next five years. It is the second project to be funded by Fair Play Clean Energy Ltd, Thrive’s Joint Venture with TopCashback Sustainability, which brings together a combined £80 million in capital to fund new clean energy projects in the UK.
Construction of the proposed 14-turbine site is expected to start in 2025, with commissioning planned by the end of 2026. Once operational, it will be capable of generating up to 149,400 MWh of clean electricity per year, the equivalent of powering 46,100 average UK homes<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a>, and delivering 65,300 tonnes of emissions reductions<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a>.
The Whitelaw Brae wind project was originally owned by developer, BayWa r.e., with Thrive acquiring the project in December 2024 following the successful completion of a competitive tender in October 2024.
Thrive has a record of delivering community and shared ownership, both at our own sites and by providing funding for community-owned energy projects. Now, we’ve acquired Whitelaw Brae, we aim to facilitate shared ownership at this site with Ripple Energy&#8217;s latest coop.

The wind farm site is located 15 km north of Moffat and 3 km south of Tweedsmuir. It is also near the River Tweed which, as part of the £25 million Destination Tweed initiative, will see the creation of a 113-mile source to sea River Tweed Trail connecting communities and attractions along the length of the river from Moffat to Berwick-upon-Tweed. The project aims to improve the landscape and river habitat and offer a unique experience to locals and visitors alike, expected to be completed across five years.  
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[1] Based on an annual generation of 149GWh and calculated using the most recent statistics from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) showing that UK average domestic household consumption is 3,239kWh per annum <a id="menur1gr" class="fui-Link ___1q1shib f2hkw1w f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1s184ao f1mk8lai fnbmjn9 f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1nev41a f1h8hb77 f1lqvz6u f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn" title="https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/" href="https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Link https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/">https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/</a>
[1] Calculated using DESNZ’s “all non-renewable fuels” emissions statistic of 437 tonnes of carbon dioxide per GWh of electricity supplied in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (July 2024) <a id="menur1gt" class="fui-Link ___1q1shib f2hkw1w f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1s184ao f1mk8lai fnbmjn9 f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1nev41a f1h8hb77 f1lqvz6u f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn" title="https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/" href="https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Link https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/">https://www.renewableuk.com/energypulse/ukwed/</a>

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Thrive Renewables

From funding some of the UK’s first onshore wind farms in the early 1990s to a new 14-turbine site, we’re harnessing the country’s abundant wind resource to deliver clean power to homes and businesses.

We’ve acquired the development rights for our biggest project to date – a 57MW onshore wind farm in Scotland

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The National Grid produces Future Energy Scenarios describing how power will be generated, distributed and consumed in the future. It demonstrates just how much needs to be done to transform our energy system. We are ready to take on this challenge and invest in new wind, solar and hydro projects; with the right policy framework in place, this transformation will happen.
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To-date, the UK has built a fifth of the renewable capacity required to slow climate change. With the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) suggesting we have only 12 years to turn the climate change around, the role for Thrive, its investors and others in building new sustainable energy infrastructure continues to be absolutely crucial.
Our mission is to power the transition to a sustainable energy future by helping people meaningfully connect with clean energy projects. By doing this we can achieve wider energy access and lower costs for everyone over the coming years. With the twin challenges of national planning guidance and an energy system where onshore renewables stand alone in being unsubsidised, the pioneering and values driven investment approach of Thrive and its investors has never been more relevant.
If government, industries and individuals work together towards this common goal, we will succeed in creating a cleaner, fairer and brighter future. We asked some of Thrive’s friends and key industry figures to imagine what this future might look like. Here’s what they said.
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1 &#8211; Cumulative generation since 1998, average UK homes equivalent consumption of 3.781MWh/p.a./UK home (https://www.renewableuk.com/page/UKWEDExplained), average residents per household 2.3 (https://www.ons.gov.uk/ peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/ populationestimates/bulletins/populationandhousehold estimatesfortheunitedkingdom/2011-03-21)

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It’s Good Money Week, organised by the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association, which Thrive is part of. As our investors know, money has the power to create real, positive change in the world.

Working together towards a brighter future

Across the UK, hundreds of thousands of impassioned people joined marches and rallies in more than 200 locations. From big cities like London, Manchester and Newcastle, which drew crowds of up to 100,000 people, to small towns and villages such as Fort William, Rhyl and Laugharne which saw 6 local villagers gather to join the global movement.
Thrive team members joined other Bristol businesses at our local Bristol march which saw a speech by Natalie Bennett of the Green Party, protestors staging a symbolic ‘die in’ and a youth poetry reading. Another member of the team, who took strike action herself from work, attended the rally outside Westminster in London.
<h3>London 20 September 2019</h3>
As people gathered from 11am, quickly filling up the streets and gardens surrounding the Houses of Parliament, the sun shone down illuminating the masses of home-made signs and radiant smiles of young and old alike. Small groups of primary school children brought by teachers stayed on the edges of the rally taking part in games and activities, whilst larger groups of teenagers stood on bins and walls holding their placards and chanting climate demands. Multi-faith groups took part in group prayer and music was playing everywhere.
The event was one of overwhelming unity, hope and a collective demand for action. Many people attending had been watching the first marches spread across Australia and the South Pacific on social media and you could not escape the feeling of connection with so many others, a little bit like when we greet the New Year around the world.
Climate justice was the theme of the day with a range of speakers from across the UK and the world discussing what it means to them and how we achieve it together. Strong key themes that came from many of the speakers was the key role racial justice and migrant justice play in achieving climate justice. Climate change disproportionately affects the global south1<a class="js-scroll-done" href="/latest-news/blog/young-people-and-workers-unite-to-demand-action-on-climate-crisis/#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1"></a> and these communities. The worst effects of climate change will lead to mass migration as vast areas of the globe become uninhabitable2. Some of the most powerful of the speakers were two school children from Malawi. They came to tell 100,000 Londoners what climate change is doing to their country, how droughts, food shortages and extreme weather are affecting their communities. They also came to tell us that we are part of the problem. These two incredibly brave and inspirational young people came to ask for our help, because we have the power and the resources to change.
Other speakers included Owen Jones, The Guardian columnist and author, Caroline Lucas, Leader of the Green Party, and Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party. Both party leaders came to discuss what their plans were for addressing the climate crisis. They both reiterated the necessity of urgent action following major global events such as the fire in the Amazon rainforest and the hurricane which left devastation in the Bahamas. They also, like many of the day’s speakers, drew attention back to those suffering most from the effects of climate change. Caroline Lucas described climate change as “the biggest social justice issue of our time”. However, these were also messages of hope, thanking those who had joined the movement for showing true climate leadership, for keeping this issue at the top of the political agenda and promising that together, as one movement across the world, we will succeed.
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1 &#8211;  UN report &#8211; Climate Change and Social Inequality <a href="https://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2017/wp152_2017.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(https://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2017/wp152_2017.pdf)</a>
2 &#8211;  International Organization for Migration (IOM) – Migration and Climate Change (<a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/apps/njlite/srex/njlite_download.php?id=5866" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-anchor="?id=5866">https://www.ipcc.ch/apps/njlite/srex/njlite_download.php?id=5866</a>)

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Three Thrive team members joined more than 7.6 million people from across the world to support the Global Climate Strike between 20th and 27th September.

Young people and workers unite to demand action on climate crisis

The power of nature

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TIDE &amp; ISE 2018

Today clean, renewable power is providing over a third of the UK’s electricity needs. At Thrive we have been part of this journey for 25 years, working towards a cleaner, smarter energy system. And we’ve come a long way. 

Video: The power of nature

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We are about to hit the milestone of 1.6 Terawatt hours (TWh) of renewable electricity generated over the last 25 years, reducing UK CO2 emissions by over 660,000 tonnes1 and meeting the equivalent annual energy demand of one million UK residents2. 22 renewable energy projects have been built or funded by Thrive over the last quarter of a century, the majority of which we own and operate. £35 million has been raised in equity and £13 million in bonds with over 6,100 investors. Assets under management now total £117 million.
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Earlier this year, we sold two onshore windfarms. From the sale of the projects, we realised the next 10 years of predicted dividends, enabling us to pay a 40p per share interim dividend to shareholders and retain a sizeable pot (approximately £11m) to invest in new renewable projects.
We’re now focusing on three main areas:
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<li>Private wire renewables – enabling businesses to build on-site wind, solar and storage and benefit from lower power prices.</li>
<li>Community Energy Funding Bridge – providing flexible finance for community groups to enable them to build and take ownership of their own renewable energy projects.</li>
<li>Demonstrating that subsidy-free small to medium scale onshore renewable developments are feasible.</li>
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There is a pipeline of new investment opportunities in place that will be announced in the coming months.
Birthday celebrations commence with our Avonmouth wind farm open day in association with Bristol Open Doors. We’re expecting over 500 people across two days on 13 and 14 September as part of our mission to connect more people to renewable energy. The free event has proved extremely popular and all places were booked within days of becoming available.
[1] https://www.renewableuk.com/page/UKWEDExplained
[2] Cumulative generation since 1998, average UK homes equivalent consumption of 3.781MWh/p.a./UK home (https://www.renewableuk.com/page/UKWEDExplained), average residents per household 2.3
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Thrive Renewables celebrates 25th anniversary.

People power key for sustainable future

We’re delighted to report that 99.3% of respondents are satisfied with Thrive Renewables. Reasons given for this high level of satisfaction include our focus on renewable energy and ethical practice. This reflects one of our core values, Sustainable At Heart; we always use the principles of sustainability to guide our investment and business approach, and have done for 25 years.
At Thrive we are committed to playing an active role in the clean energy movement and driving positive change in the UK, working towards achieving our mission to power the transition to a sustainable energy future. It’s great to see this recognised by our investors, with 84% of respondents describing Thrive as making a genuine difference to the environment.  
Public support for renewable energy and climate action has grown markedly recently, inspired by the School Strike 4 Climate and Extinction Rebellion movements. According to the UK Government’s public opinion tracker, in 2019 84% of the British public support renewable energy sources for electricity and heat production and 79% <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-attitudes-tracking-survey">support onshore wind</a>. Investors who took part in our survey are overwhelmingly in support of renewable energy and climate action, with 92.2% applauding the school children who went on strike to highlight environmental issues.  
In June, the UK Government signed a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 into law, making history in the process. But this gesture must be followed by tangible actions, and respondents agree. 98.9% think the government need to do a lot more to support the renewable energy industry and 99.7% would like to see the UK produce much more renewable energy than it currently does. 
We need policy with clear and stable direction and investment into renewable energy from the government or we will not meet that target. 99.1% of our survey participants believe that as a society, if we don’t make more investments in renewable energy now, future generations will really suffer.

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98.9% think the government needs to improve support for the renewable energy industry.

Thrive investors have their say

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[1] BEIS: Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/digest-of-uk-energy-statistics-dukes)
[2] BEIS Public Attitude Tracker: Energy and Climate Change (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-attitudes-tracking-survey)
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Did you know that renewables were responsible for meeting just 2% of our electricity consumption back in 1994? Check out our birthday timeline of Thrive history since 1994.

Down memory lane

Drumduff wind farm was officially opened by local MSP Alison Johnstone at a community open day in September 2018. The project has the potential to produce enough clean energy for over 5,000 UK homes[1], and in 2018 was awarded the Sustainable Development award at the Scottish Renewables’ Green Energy Awards.
Thrive has also been shortlisted for Community Energy England’s Collaboration award, for the Community Benefit Programme we run with national charity the Centre for Sustainable Energy. The Community Benefit Programme has been running since 2015, offering grants of up to £4,000 for energy efficiency and sustainability improvements for community buildings close to our renewable energy projects. The grants improve warmth and comfort and reduce running costs in eligible buildings, while also reducing CO2 emissions. These buildings play a key role within their communities, providing vital services and communal space for everyone, including the most vulnerable, to come together. To date, the Community Benefit Programme has awarded over £63,000 to 17 community buildings, saving 40 tonnes of CO2 each year.
Finally, Thrive Renewables has been shortlisted for Green Business of the Year at Business Insider Magazine’s prestigious Business Leaders Awards. With ‘Sustainability At Heart’ one of our core values, we are honoured to be recognised as one of the greenest and most sustainable businesses in the South West. The principles of sustainability guide all aspects of Thrive’s business, from the renewable energy projects we build and operate, to the community events we run.
[1] Calculated using the most recent statistics from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) showing that annual UK average domestic household consumption is 3,781kWh, <a href="https://www.renewableuk.com/page/UKWEDExplained">https://www.renewableuk.com/page/UKWEDExplained</a>

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Alongside our valued partners GreenPower International and the Centre for Sustainable Energy, Thrive has been recognised and shortlisted for three industry awards.

Thrive Renewables shortlisted for three prestigious awards

The UK has installed an impressive 44GW of renewable energy capacity in the last few decades, meeting a third of our electricity demand. To meet our net zero carbon emission targets, this rapid growth must continue. Matthew Clayton writes for BusinessGreen on how a few important changes can help lower costs, increase revenue certainty and secure the vital investment needed to transform the UK&#8217;s energy system. Read the full article on the BusinessGreen <a href="https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/opinion/3080625/planning-for-a-successful-subsidy-free-future" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website.</a>

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Our Managing Director, Matthew Clayton, writes for BusinessGreen.

Planning for a successful, subsidy-free future

The new power purchase agreement (PPA) for the electricity generated by Thrive’s 2.75MW wind turbine at Ness Point, England’s most easterly point, will provide enough energy for 2,225 UK homes. The agreement for the 0.8MW Auchtygills turbine in Aberdeenshire will power an additional 700 homes.
In 1998, Bristol City Council and Thrive separately became renewable energy trailblazers. The council became one of the first local authorities to buy renewable electricity and Thrive invested in its first wind farm – Haverigg.
Twenty years on, Thrive now has a portfolio of 17 renewable energy projects. And, Bristol has set itself the ambitious target of becoming carbon-neutral by 2030, with the council <a href="https://news.bristol.gov.uk/news/council-exceeds-carbon-reduction-target-for-a-second-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently announcing</a> it had cut its own carbon emissions by 71%, two years ahead of schedule. The council has also launched its City Leap project to help significantly reduce carbon emissions and build a resilient city where no one is left behind.
Providing accessible renewable energy is a key objective for Thrive and Bristol Energy. The organisations – which are both headquartered in the city centre, by College Green and Temple Meads respectively – are enabling people to get involved by investing in Thrive’s renewable energy schemes or by signing up Bristol Energy’s 100% green tariff.
The deal was completed on e-POWER, an online auction, which enables independent renewable energy generators to sell clean electricity to utilities.
Ness Point
Ness Point, in Lowestoft is the most easterly point in England and the turbine sits right on the sea wall, making the most of winds whipping in off the North Sea.
Since Thrive invested in the project, the <a href="https://www.orbisenergy.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Orbis Energy Centre</a> has been established next door, which is a flagship focus for the east of England&#8217;s renewables network and home to a range of established and innovative organisations supporting the sector.
Auchtygills wind farm
The Auchtygills turbine is a single, 0.8MW machine built near Strichen in Aberdeenshire. The Auchtygills project makes an annual community benefit payment to the local council. This payment is used by the council to carry out sustainability, energy efficiency and environmental improvements to existing housing stock in the area and to contribute to educational and art projects in the area through the local Mintlaw Academy.

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Thrive Renewables and Bristol Energy have today unveiled an agreement for 3.55MW of renewable electricity, enough to power almost 3,000 homes, from two onshore wind farms in Suffolk and Aberdeenshire.

Thrive and Bristol Energy agree wind power deal for 3,000 homes

A key area highlighted by the CCC for change is within power sector, specifically onshore renewables, such as onshore wind and solar PV. Up until 2015, the UK was a world leader in onshore renewable development, so when the government removed support and changed planning regulations in 2015, it was a significant setback to the industry. According to the report, there is currently no route to market for onshore wind and solar, the lowest-cost forms of renewable generation. This severely limits the potential speed of decarbonisation in the UK and adds to costs.
The report identifies where policy has been successful in catalysing change. Offshore wind is now able to provide power at comparable prices to fossil fuels. This has been achieved by creating a marketplace with long-term contracts and the necessary funding via a ‘Contracts for Difference’ (CfD) scheme.
Renewable energy continues to fall in price and is now the cheapest source of new electricity generation in most parts of the world1. Since 2017 the global average levelised cost of solar PV and onshore wind has fallen by 13%2. By 2020 these two sources are expected to be less expensive than the cheapest fossil fuel alternative in a wide range of geographies2. The CCC progress report underlines that there is absolutely massive potential for onshore renewables in the UK, and with the right policies in place we could start building immediately.
The government doesn’t need to change much to ensure that we can start building renewables at capacity again. A few small planning system amendments could boost investor confidence and support wide-spread and successful subsidy-free onshore renewable generation. Renewable energy projects are almost unique in receiving planning permission for just 20 &#8211; 25 years, which reflected the length of time they received financial support. But now that support has been removed, the government needs to recognise the crucial role of onshore renewables in decarbonising the UK’s energy infrastructure. The time span of planning permissions needs to be changed to in perpetuity to bring renewables into line with other infrastructure projects. This will increase investor confidence and ultimately lead to lower electricity bills for the consumer. Additionally, removing the risk of the existing UK portfolio of renewables from shrinking is key.  Planning guidance should encourage the continued use of existing renewable energy sites, rather than the benchmarking continued operations against a green field.

1 IRENA (2019) Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2018; Bloomberg New Energy Finance (2019) New Energy Outlook 2019. These costs use a generation cost basis, which does not include the systems costs of variable renewables.
2 International Renewable Energy Agency (2019) Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2018

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“The need for action has rarely been clearer. Our message to government is simple: Now, do it.” Committee on Climate Change.

Reaching net zero - We need policy with clear and stable direction

The UK committed to ‘net zero’ carbon emissions by 2050 recently, a very positive move. Matthew Clayton argues that onshore renewables have the potential to play a very significant part in this vital transformation. Read the full article on The Ecologist <a href="https://theecologist.org/2019/jun/18/matching-ambition-action">website</a>.

Our Managing Director, Matthew Clayton, writes for The Ecologist website.

Matching ambition with action

The UK has just committed to reducing carbon emissions to almost zero by 2050. It is communities like this one at Caton Moor who will help us to get there.

Celebrating wind power 

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Wind energy has the power to help deliver net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and deliver economic growth. This film celebrates the difference wind power has made in a rural community.

Video: Celebrating wind power at Caton Moor

This would form a significant part of the £330 billion needed in the next six years to deliver the energy infrastructure required for net zero [1]. But, concerns over greenwashing and a lack of available information on impact investments – financial investments which generate measurable, positive environmental impacts – are holding back this crucial investment. When surveyed on their actual plans, 18% of people say they will start or increase impact investments within the next year. 
<h3>‘Changevestors&#8217; want more investment options that combat climate change  </h3>
Our research identified a new group of younger investors, aged 18-34 named ‘changevestors’, as being the most focused on delivering environmental impact. This group has a larger proportion of their portfolio (33%) in impact investments, compared to other age groups (24%). Furthermore, a third (33%) of this group say they have plans to increase this in the next year.  This reflects their wider choices with more than two thirds (73%) saying they have made some or significant lifestyle changes. 
However, some changevestors are held back by a lack of information and suspicions of greenwashing. The FCA is currently looking to better regulate how sustainable investments are framed to investors: 44% say they do not trust firms which position themselves as environmentally friendly. 
<h3>Meeting the desire for change </h3>
Those who participated in our research reported a desire for change, with Changevestors leading calls for more sustainable investment options. Close to two thirds (63%) of 18-34 year-olds want to see more investment options that would help prevent climate change; over half (55%) were frustrated by a lack of mainstream options for more sustainable investing.  
<h3>Galvanising the eco-over 55&#8217;s  </h3>
In contrast, our research reported that over 55’s are the least likely to invest in impact focused investments, despite being the group most likely to have investments and prioritising longer-term returns and mitigating against financial risk. This also contrasts with their behaviour: they are highly likely to have made changes to their lifestyle to reduce their impact on the environment with 73% saying they have made at least some.

[1] Energy infrastructure investment needed, taken from <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6194dfa4d3bf7f0555071b1b/net-zero-strategy-beis.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">net-zero-strategy-beis.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)</a>  
[2] <a href="https://makemymoneymatter.co.uk/21x/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Green my pension &#8211; Make My Money Matter</a>

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Thrive research shows more than two thirds of investors would put money into opportunities that deliver environmental impact.

The £214 billion impact investment opportunity: Retail investors could unlock crucial net zero funding

Thrive is pleased to support Babbasa in their important work by providing a £1,000 grant that will help them to continue offering their Support Programme. One of their core services, the Support Programme works with young people who are at risk or have dropped out of education or employment, who may be facing multiple barriers or challenges, or who are disadvantaged by their background (e.g. Black and minority ethnic, disability, in care or care leavers).The programme supports young people to overcome the challenges they are facing in education or employment by providing intensive 1:1 support, targeted group activities, and aspirational or career-focused activities. It also helps young people to identify their aspirations and personal challenges, understand their rights and choices and develop the skills and confidence to pursue their ambitions.
In addition to the funding, we’re looking forward to providing opportunities for Babbasa’s young people to learn more about careers within the renewables sector. This includes plans for a site visit to one of our renewable energy projects.

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Babbasa group shot

We’re teaming up with Babbasa to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds overcome barriers to education or employment.

Supporting under-represented young people in Bristol

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According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this 1.5°C target is critical if we’re to avoid the very worst impacts of climate change and was agreed by 196 parties at the COP21 conference in France in 2015, subsequently known as the ‘Paris Agreement’.
But under current policies, the government would only achieve just over half (54%) of the emissions cuts needed between now and 2030 to hit the target. This is made worse by the fact that the emissions gap – the difference between the target and projected emissions in 2030 – has <a href="https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/track-uk-breaking-its-2030-climate-promise" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grown by more than half (55%) over the last year</a>, thanks to a scaling back on climate action – including the decision to hold annual oil &amp; gas licencing rounds.
And its not just the UK that is falling behind. A new report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) confirmed that urgent action is needed, with the world currently on track for 2.5 to 2.9°C of heating this century. With temperatures soaring and episodes of extreme weather becoming more and more frequent, the UN’s secretary general, Antonio Guterres, has said that the world is heading for a “hellish” future if we don’t act now.
<h3>What do we want to see as a result of COP28?</h3>
<h4>1. A commitment to fully phase out fossil fuels</h4>
In 2016, parties attending COP26 in Glasgow agreed to “accelerate the phasedown of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”. A year later at COP27, 80 countries called to have this language updated so that it included not only coal, but all fossil fuels. This was ultimately unsuccessful.
We’re now seeing this conversation continue to unfold, with countries allegedly considering calling for a formal phase-out of fossil fuels as part of the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/fossil-fuel-phase-out-put-table-cop28-climate-talks-2023-12-05/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">summit&#8217;s final deal to tackle global heating</a>. The topic is certainly causing debate, however, with four times the number of oil and gas producing countries attending COP28 compared to last year’s conference. It perhaps doesn’t come as a surprise that we’re also hearing some extremely worrying statements being made about fossil fuels and their impact on climate change. It has been reported that COP President, Sultan Al Jaber, stated that there is “no science” backing up the need to phase out fossil fuels and that doing so would not allow for sustainable development, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/03/back-into-caves-cop28-president-dismisses-phase-out-of-fossil-fuels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“unless you want to take the world back into caves”</a>. This comes as the latest <a href="https://productiongap.org/">Production Gap report</a> has revealed that governments, in aggregate, still plan to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C.
Put simply, there is no net zero future that includes oil and gas. What we need from our government and other world leaders is a final and binding commitment to phase out all fossil fuels, as well as faster action to reduce emissions today. We will be keeping a close eye on the negotiations and hope to see this addressed as talks come to a close next week.
<h4>2. Investment incentives for clean technologies</h4>
Ahead of the conference, the United Arab Emirates’ COP28 presidency, International Renewables Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Global Renewables Alliance issued a joint report claiming that renewable energy capacity needs to “reach more than 11,000 GW” by 2030. Following this, we’ve seen leaders from more than 110 countries commit to a collective effort to <a href="https://renews.biz/89878/global-leaders-agree-to-triple-renewables-capacity-by-2030/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030</a>.
This will require a massive scaling up of public and private sector investment, which presents a huge opportunity &#8211; especially in contrast to the investment which continues to flow into finite fossil fuel reserves. Here in the UK, we need to see the government urgently address the investment landscape which has not only been impacted by inflation and interest rates, but by policy uncertainty and infrastructure issues like grid connection times, amongst other things.
We know that COP28 can be a huge platform for climate action, but we need the government to recognise this and be more ambitious so that we can reassert the UK’s leadership position when it comes to clean investment. In fact, <a href="https://www.energy-uk.org.uk/news/uk-falling-behind-in-race-for-clean-energy-investment/">analysis by Energy UK</a> has revealed that, without taking action to address these factors, the UK economy could lose out on £62 billion of investment between now and 2030. This would lead to a shortfall of 54 GW of potential wind and solar capacity, which represents enough generation to power every home in the UK.
<h4>3. Greater support for countries bearing the brunt of climate change</h4>
The sad truth about climate change is that it’s not a tomorrow problem, countries around the world are already facing the very real consequences of our reliance on fossil fuels, from droughts and wildfires to catastrophic flooding impacting every part of our lives, not least food production.
And a report published during COP28 has revealed that the amount of money needed for the energy transition, including climate adaptation and disaster relief, is monumental. According to the report, emerging markets and developing countries will <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/climate-finance-takes-centre-stage-cop28-climate-talks-2023-12-04/#:~:text=The%20amount%20of%20cash%20needed,challenges%20posed%20by%20climate%20change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">need $2.4 trillion a year in investment to cap emissions</a> and adapt to the challenges posed by climate change.
We were pleased to see the UK taking a step in the right direction, announcing a £1.6 billion climate aid package on COP28’s ‘Finance Day’, which it says has been structured to help mobilise private investment into emerging economies as a means of tackling climate change. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-to-call-for-era-of-action-at-cop28-climate-summit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The package includes £500 million in funding</a> to tackle the causes of deforestation, £316 million for energy innovation projects around the world and up to £60 million for loss and damage.
While there are rightly questions of whether this is to distract from the scaling down of green policies at home in the UK, we agree that an ‘era of action’ is required. And it’s not just about investing in climate risk mitigation, we must keep sight of addressing the cause of climate change itself. This will cost far less and be far more efficient than having to defend ourselves against an ever increasing tide of catastrophic climate events.
As usual, COP28 has seen a number of pledges and commitments made but it will be interesting to see how these progress in the next 12 months. Instead of just talking, we’re committed to taking action: funding and building new clean energy projects that provide cleaner, cheaper power to homes across the country, while also contributing towards the UK’s net zero targets.
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