The UK is hoping to shape a new global axis in favour of climate action along with China and a host of developing countries, to offset the impact of Donald Trump’s abandonment of green policies and his sharp veer towards climate-hostile countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia
Ed Miliband, the UK’s energy and net zero secretary, arrived in Beijing on Friday for three days of talks with top Chinese officials, including discussions on green technology supply chains, coal and the critical minerals needed for clean energy. The UK’s green economy is growing three times faster than the rest of the economy, but access to components and materials will be crucial for that to continue.
He said: “We can only keep future generations safe from climate change if all major emitters act. It is simply an act of negligence to today’s and future generations not to engage China on how it can play its part in taking action on climate.”
Writing in the Guardian, he added: “Climate action at home without pushing other, larger countries to do their fair share would not protect current and future generations. We will only protect our farmers, our pensioners and our children if we get other countries of the world to play their part.”
China is facing a barrage of tariffs from Trump on its exports to the US, and the possibility that the EU will start levying green tariffs on imports of high-carbon Chinese goods, such as steel.
The world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter is profiting from record exports of electric vehicles, solar panels and other low-carbon goods. But it is still highly dependent on coal, and though the upward march of its emissions appears to have paused, whether China reduces its carbon output or returns to fossil fuels may depend largely on the government’s response to Trump’s trade war.
Many experts believe the only prospect of staving off climate breakdown is for China, the EU, the UK and other major economies to form a pro-climate bloc alongside vulnerable developing countries, to counter the weight of US, Russia, Saudi Arabia and petrostates pushing for the continued expansion of fossil fuels.
Miliband’s visit to Beijing is the first by a UK energy secretary in eight years. He visited India last month on a similar mission, and travelled to Brazil last year, as well as holding meetings with many minsters of developing countries at the Cop29 climate summit last November.
Catherine Abreu, the director of the International Climate Politics Hub, said: “It’s really important to see this happening – there is no way to fulfil the Paris agreement without China. And China has made clear it is willing to be more vocal on these issues, to boost climate action. We see an openness in China to band together with Europe, Canada, the UK on climate issues.”
But the prospects of agreement on the sharp emissions cuts needed globally to limit temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, in line with the Paris agreement, are increasingly remote. Brazil will host this year’s UN climate summit, Cop30, in the Amazon in November amid the worst geopolitical tensions in decades, and as many governments prepare to pour money into rearmament.
Only a handful of countries, including the UK, have so far submitted their national plans on emissions cuts for the next decade as required under the 2015 Paris agreement, despite the deadline passing last month. China is unlikely to produce its plan until much closer to the Cop30 conference, and will be keenly watched, as its current carbon targets are much too weak to stay within the 1.5C limit.
Miliband may find he needs to adapt his plans for a booming green economy in the UK in the face of China’s economic dominance of the low-carbon technology market, according to Li Shuo, the director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
“We need to be honest about the economic reality,” he said. “All countries in the world are hoping for a share of the green pie. But that is not aligned with the economic reality … that they can’t outcompete China.”
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As of December 2024, the UK had 22,800 net zero businesses. Of all 22,800 net zero businesses, 3,850 had seen growth of over 10% in the past year. There were 15,600 UK net zero businesses identified as employers (reporting at least one employee). The remaining 7,200 companies had zero reported employees; these could be sole traders, holding companies, or companies that are yet to report their employment figures. Of the 15,600 employers identified within the net zero economy, 94% were SMEs with fewer than 250 employees, while 6% were large employers with over 250 reported employees.
As part of the definition of the net zero economy, businesses can be part of 16 sub-sectors that together form the net zero economy. The renewable energy planning database has remained the largest component of the net zero economy, with 10,625 businesses active in this sector. These are companies that are captured in (or similar to) the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD). The REPD tracks the progress of UK renewable electricity projects over 150kW and includes companies that have applied for permission or are currently operating a renewable energy site generating over 150kW. Renewables and Waste Management and Recycling were the next largest sub-sectors, with 7,138 companies and 5,428 companies, respectively.
When considering the value supported across the wider economy, the contributions rose to account for 3.3% of the UK economy in 2024. At a total contribution of £83.1 billion, the net zero economy is 16% larger than the regional economy of the North East. These figures also show that for every £1 in economic value generated by net zero businesses, a further £1.89 is generated throughout the wider economy.
When including these wider contributions, the sector’s employment contributions also rise to 951,000 FTE jobs, which accounts for 2.9% of total UK employment and supports nearly as many jobs as directly employed by the financial and insurance services sector (just over 1 million FTEs) sector and more than double the number of people employed by the food and drink manufacturing sector (470,450 FTEs). These figures mean that for every job supported by net zero businesses, a further 2.5 jobs are supported in the wider economy.
