Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy

The UK is a world leader in the fight against climate change. In 2019 we became the first major economy in the world to pass laws to end its contribution to global warming by 2050. Reaching this target will require extensive, systematic change across all sectors, including industry. We must get this change right as the products made by industry are vital to life in the UK, and the sector supports local economies across the country.

This strategy covers the full range of UK industry sectors: metals and minerals, chemicals, food and drink, paper and pulp, ceramics, glass, oil refineries and less energy-intensive manufacturing. These businesses account for around one sixth of UK emissions, and transformation of their manufacturing processes is key if we are to meet our emissions targets over the coming decades (BEIS, Final UK greenhouse gas emissions from national statistics: 1990 to 2018: Supplementary tables, 2020).

The aim of this strategy is to show how the UK can have a thriving industrial sector aligned with the net zero target, without pushing emissions and business abroad, and how government will act to support this. An indicative roadmap to net zero for UK industry based on the content in this strategy is set out at the end of this summary. This strategy is part of a series of publications from government, which combined show how the net zero transition will take place across the whole UK economy.