Green economy:a UK success story

Recession resilience

How does the green economy compare?

Indexed growth rate since the financial crisis1

Size of UK economy 2011 1

“ Over a third of the UK’s economic growth in 2011-12 is likely to have come from green business” CBI, 20122

Green economy turnover

GDP

Projected growth

2008

Inde

xed

to 2

007

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

-10%

0

10%

20%

30%

40%

Green economy£122bn

General economy£1,315bn

Low carbon and environmental939,600

Financial services1,061,900

Telecoms 212,900

Motor trade manufacture and retail518,400

Recession resilience

Low carbon and environmental jobs compared to other sectors 2010-113

Market certainty

UK261,100

KILOTONNESCO2

34%

WALES22,229 Kt

CO2

N IRELAND 7,345 Kt

CO2

ENGLAND202,451

KILOTONNESCO2

33%40%

30%42%

SCOTLAND29,075 Kt

CO2

Clear CO2 reduction objectives...4

Our calculation of what England’s share of the UK’s CO2 reduction target should be, assuming other nations reach theirs

2020 targets

Market certainty

...leading to investment

Low carbon projects

£23 billion

High carbon projects

£3.1 billion

£1.9bn public

£1.2bnprivate

£14.5bnprivate

£7bnpublic/private

£1.4bnpublic

Spending on the top 20 infrastructure projects (by cost) started or confirmed 2012-135

...low carbon outcomes6

£85.38

England

£325.54

Scotland

£147.35

Wales

£100.03

N Ireland

Investment in renewables per capita April 2011 – March 2012

Renewable electricity consumed per capita across the UK 2011-12

5%

22%

6%11%

31,70041,50077,700

Scotland

Low carbon and environmental788,700

England

Wales N Ireland

17,70027,80086,800

Financial services929,600

Telecoms184,500

Motor trade manufacture and retail440,200

3,100

10,700

6,600

21,500

18,700

46,000

...and jobs3

Low carbon and environmental jobs across the UK 2010-11

Green employment is spread evenly across the country and correlates exactly with the population of each nation, eg England has 84% of the population and 84% of the green jobs

Global leadership

Japan£358m

India£412m

Brazil£232m

USA£331m

China£794m

Germany£291m

Where are the UK’s green export markets?7

The UK exported low carbon and environmental goods and services to 52 countries in 2010-11, totalling £11.8bn

Global leadership

Japan£358m

India£412m

Brazil£232m

USA£331m

China£794m

Germany£291m

“ In 2014-15, [green business] is expected to roughly halve the UK’s trade deficit” CBI, 20122

How do UK green exports compare with competitors?7

The UK is the green financing capital of the world8

One third of all global asset finance investment in new energy deals between 2007 and 2012 received both legal and financial advice from the UK

Brazil

China

£232m£140m

£794m

£412m

£331m

£291m

£358m

£229m

£189m

£170m

£211m

£464m

Green imports 2010-11 Green exports 2010-11

India

USAUK

Germany

Japan

A UK success storyWe are often told of the benefits that come from creating a greener economy and the advantage that will come from being a first mover. It is now clear that we don’t need to wait for these benefits. The UK has moved and we are seeing the advantage.

Our low carbon and environmental sector has shown that it’s not just for the good times, but that it has continued to grow steadily even whilst broader economic activity slows.

This is the outcome of setting ambitious environmental targets and creating long term market incentives for green goods and services. It has given the private sector confidence to invest billions of pounds in these markets. In contrast, the UK’s high carbon infrastructure projects now have much lower leverage on private capital and are being propped up by greater proportions of public spending.

The return on our investment in greening the economy is being felt across the country, with nearly a million people now employed in providing low carbon and environmental goods and services, outstripping employment in other sectors such as telecoms.

Quietly and without fanfare, green business has become a UK success story, at home and abroad. We now export more green products and services to our competitors than we import from them, and we have become the green financing capital of the world.

This success should be celebrated. With greater public recognition and stronger confidence green businesses can help secure a faster and more resilient economic recovery.

Data sources1 Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS), 2012, Low carbon environmental goods and services: report for 2010-11; Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2012, Quarterly national accounts Q4 2011; Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), 2012, Economic and fiscal outlook

2 CBI, 2012, The colour of growth: maximising the potential of green business

3 Green jobs: BIS, 2012, Low carbon environmental goods and services: report for 2010-11; other jobs: ONS, 2011, Business register employment survey 2010

4 Emissions levels: AEA, 2011, Greenhouse gas inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: 1990 – 2009; emissions targets: HM Government, 2008, Climate Change Act; Scottish Government, 2009, Climate Change (Scotland) Act; Welsh Assembly Government, 2010, Climate change strategy for Wales; Northern Ireland Executive, 2012, Programme for government 2011-15

5 HM Treasury, 2011, Infrastructure investment pipeline data

6 Renewables consumption: Department for Energy & Climate Change (DECC), 2011, Electricity generation and supply figures for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England, 2007 to 2010; investment: DECC, 2012, Renewables investment and jobs; ONS, 2011, Population estimates for UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, mid-2010

7 BIS, 2012, Low carbon environmental goods and services: report for 2010-11

8 Data courtesy of Bloomberg New Energy Finance

9 BIS, 2012, Low carbon environmental goods and services: report for 2010-11; UN, 2011, World population prospects: the 2010 revision

More detailed references are available at www.green-alliance.org.uk/UKsuccess

Cover imageThe UK has higher per capita green turnover than Germany, Brazil and China.9

AcknowledgementsWe are grateful to Alex Belsham-Harris, Green Alliance intern, Paul Benjamin at Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Ricardo Bowman at the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills for their help in producing this publication.

With thanks to the following organisations for supporting this project:

Green Alliance36 Buckingham Palace Road London, SW1W 0RE

020 7233 7433ga@green-alliance.org.ukwww.green-alliance.org.uk

blog: greenallianceblog.org.uktwitter: @GreenAllianceUK

The Green Alliance Trust is a registered charity 1045395 and company limited by guarantee (England & Wales) 3037633, registered at the above address

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© Green Alliance, August 2012