The UK published the article Tuesday of its “green revolution” at a summit that brought together investors and multinationals, hoping to raise billions in funds a few days before COP26, the world climate conference in Glasgow.

“Here’s the plan: a green industrial revolution, fueled by the new freedoms of Brexit,” praised Prime Minister Boris Johnson in front of an audience of leaders including those from investment funds Blackstone and Blackrock, the director general of the World Organization. of the commerce (OMC) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, or the billionaire Bill Gates.

“I understand that $ 24 trillion has been raised in this room. And I mean every one of those dollars – you are welcome in the UK,” he joked.

The UK is hosting COP26 in Scotland from October 31st and the UK government is making more announcements.

But the social justice organization Global Justice Now denounced a summit that it says is akin to a “green wash” and offers only “false solutions” to the climate crisis.

The British energy company Drax Group, which operates the UK’s largest still-functioning coal-fired power station, is particularly targeted by the NGO, which claims that the latter “emitted more emissions than Ghana in 2019.”

And four guest banks and asset managers – BlackRock, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Barclays – “have invested a total of $ 173 billion in fossil fuels in recent years,” Global Justice Now also denounces.

Association with Bill Gates

London on Tuesday announced foreign investment deals totaling £ 9.7 billion to support this “green growth,” including a huge offshore wind project by Spain’s Iberdrola.

These 18 agreements should allow the creation of “at least 30,000 jobs” and “support growth in key sectors such as wind or hydrogen-based energy, sustainable housing, CO2 capture and storage,” said the executive.

Boris Johnson and Bill Gates also announced a £ 400 million ten-year partnership, half of which was provided by a billionaire-led investment program and the other half by the British government, to fund “the next generation of technologies from clean energy”.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Tuesday called on international institutions to harmonize carbon prices, “which range from less than a dollar a ton in Ukraine to more than $ 130 in Sweden,” and said that “For businesses, it’s a bit of a nightmare to navigate.”

Chinese investments

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said Tuesday that he did not intend to “rule out” Chinese investments in the UK, in an interview with Bloomberg News. A 50-megawatt battery storage project by the Huaneng Group is among Tuesday’s announcements.

“That doesn’t mean we should be naive” on issues like 5G or nuclear, he added.

The British government also clarified its strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 on Tuesday.

Among the announced measures are 120 million pounds dedicated to developing nuclear projects “to decarbonize electricity production”, which the British government wants to be completely CO2-free by 2035.

London also unveils 350 million pounds more for the development of electric vehicles and 180 million for the one of less polluting fuels for aviation.

Grants are also being launched to help replace gas boilers with cleaner systems, such as heat pumps, as part of a £ 3.9 billion program to ‘decarbonize’ buildings.

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak also announced Monday that some large companies should now publish their environmental impact.

These new requirements, which will also apply to pension plans, investment products and asset owners and managers, will help companies and individuals “know if their investments are in line with carbon neutrality.”

This strategy has almost succeeded in convincing the environmental association Greenpeace, which admits that “the British Treasury finally seems to be beginning to understand” and is now asking Rishi Sunak to materialize his promises in his draft budget next week.

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