Commenting on the publication of the Independent review into Net Zero led by Chris Skidmore MP, ACE’s CEO Stephen Marcos Jones said:

“The overarching take-away from the Review is that it makes clear the economic opportunity of our journey to Net Zero, reinforcing our views that our current economic challenges should not detract from longer-term ambitions on climate. We welcome the specific focus of using infrastructure to unlock Net Zero and support the ambition to develop a cross-sectoral Infrastructure Strategy by 2025. Our members at ACE and EIC, with a unique role in the supply chain as the delivery partners of choice for government – as well as in-depth specialist technical knowledge and understanding – are well placed to support the delivery of this Review.

“We were delighted to see many of our policy asks, recently published in our 2023 Manifesto, explored in the Review. The ‘Net Zero local big bang’ tallies with many of our regional advocacy points on driving local industrial strategies, and we were pleased to see a recommendation to simplify local net zero funding, consolidate of different pots and a reduce competitive bidding.

“We were also pleased to see a recognition of the need for whole systems thinking around creating an R&D and technology roadmap – this would help our members to plan to play a crucial role in delivery. Finally, it was refreshing to see a recognition of the vital role that skills will play in our move to Net Zero, and the proposal for changes to the apprenticeship levy in England is interesting, however we would need to ensure that any changes would not be at the expense of quality or apprenticeships value to employers.”

“There is lots to welcome in this Review and we look forward to working constructively with government and other stakeholders to help turn these recommendations into reality.”