China focuses on UK low-carbon investment

China’s focus on low-carbon business deals in the UK during the State Visit of President Xi this week, including in nuclear, offshore wind, biomass and low-emission transport, should not be surprising, says Richard Black, Director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).

“The fact that China is putting so much of its UK investment into low-carbon technologies isn’t a surprise. China is already the world’s biggest market for low-carbon goods and services; a few years ago it was famously building one coal-fired power station every week, now it’s building the equivalent amount of clean energy capacity every week,” he said.

“Pushed by climate change concerns and pulled by the lure of a rapidly growing global market, China is set to dominate both the politics and the business of the world’s low-carbon transition, and it’s clear there are opportunities on offer to British companies if they and the Government are inclined to grasp them.”

Deals made this week include:

– Investment in new nuclear power in the UK (£5.4bn to £8.2bn);

– Investment in offshore wind project in Scotland;

-Investment in low-emission transport including electric buses (up to £2bn) and zero-emission capable taxis (£50m);

– Investment in a biomass power project in Wales (£2bn).

The ECIU and chinadialogue this week published a report on China’s increasingly ambitious and committed approach to climate change and low-carbon development.