Net Zero Festival: The economic case for a net zero industrial revolution

BusinessGreen staff
clock • 1 min read

VIDEO: CBI's chief economist Rain Newton-Smith explains why the net zero transition is inevitable, desirable, and affordable

Rain Newton-Smith is chief economist at Britain's biggest business group the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which speaks on behalf of around 190,000 companies collectively employing almost seven million people.

With a career that has taken in spells at the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, the International Monetary Fund and Oxford Economics, Newton-Smith is one of the country's leading economic experts, and since joining the CBI, one of her core focuses has been on the transition to a net zero, sustainable economy.

At BusinessGreen's Net Zero Festival last week, Newton-Smith set out the economic case for net zero in the UK - the necessity, benefits and challenges - and argued the transition is not only desireable and inevitable, but also, crucially, affordable. Her keynote speech, and the interview which followed with the BBC's energy and environment analyst Roger Harrabin, can be watched in full above.

All of the panel debates, keynote speeches, and presentations from the Net Zero Festival - which took place over three days from 29 September 2021 featuring hundreds of top speakers from business, politics and academia - are now available to watch again on demand by signing up for free on the Net Zero Festival website.

 

 

 

More on Policy

EU Omnibus Package: Over half of EU businesses 'dissatisfied' with watering down of environmental reporting rules

EU Omnibus Package: Over half of EU businesses 'dissatisfied' with watering down of environmental reporting rules

Survey of 1,000 EU firms finds 61 per cent of businesses are happy with Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive in its current form

clock 15 May 2025 • 5 min read
'Half-hearted U-turn': Government re-opens Sustainable Farming Incentive for around 3,000 farms

'Half-hearted U-turn': Government re-opens Sustainable Farming Incentive for around 3,000 farms

Following NFU challenge, government admits shock closure of subsidy scheme contained errors as it re-opens application process for some farms

James Murray
clock 13 May 2025 • 4 min read
'An incredibly divisive topic': Cornwall Insight warns switch to zonal pricing unlikely to be achieved before 2030

'An incredibly divisive topic': Cornwall Insight warns switch to zonal pricing unlikely to be achieved before 2030

Influential analyst firm argues that even under ambitious timelines, it would likely take until the early 2030s to transition UK market to a zonal electricity pricing regime

James Murray
clock 12 May 2025 • 4 min read