Business secretary Alok Sharma (pictured) has called for more companies to sign up for the UK Government’s initiative to convert to 100% renewable energy by 2050.
Sharma said the government aims to ramp up its “ambition towards a climate-resilient, zero-carbon economy”, while addressing an online COP26 business leaders event.
He said: “We need more companies to commit to 100% renewable sources by 2050 at the latest, through the RE100 initiative and the Powering Past Coal Alliance.
The UK is showing the way for other countries to have a green post-Covid-19 recovery and has demonstrated “green growth is possible”, he added.
Sharma said: “20 years ago, the UK had two offshore wind turbines, powering just two thousand homes.
“Fast forward to 2020, and the UK has more offshore wind capacity than any other country in the world.”
Sharma highlighted the 3.6GW Dogger Bank offshore wind farm project, on which construction began earlier this year.
The wind farm will be able to power an estimated four and a half million UK homes when it is completed.
He said: “Between 1990 and 2018, the UK economy has grown by 75% and at the same time, we have managed to cut emissions by 43%.
“We have done this by working together and building entirely new industries,” he said.
Sharma said the cost of wind power has fallen by 50% globally with it now being cheaper than coal in two-thirds of countries.
He said he knew companies around the world were having to “respond to the immediate and acute challenges posed by the pandemic” but added the climate crisis “has not taken any time off”.