As climate sceptics look increasingly out of tune with the reality of UK weather, the business world is doubling down on decarbonisation as cost of inactivity continues to climb.
Conducted by the We Mean Business Coalition, E3G, and Global Renewables Alliance, there Powering up poll looked at aloft 2,000 companies in 18 individual sectors. According to this, 90% said they expected to be ‘largely electrified’ within the next decade, with political instability and concerns around energy security the key factors that many say make the decarbonisation process more urgent.
80% of respondents believe that electrification can lead to lower bill. However, 72% of leaders say that policies necessary to see faster change are not being enacted. In June, Turkey’s COP31 Presidency declared that it was possible to raise final energy demand from 20% to 35% electric by 2035 was possible, but only with the right political decision-making.
‘Businesses are increasingly seeing electrification as the foundation of future competitiveness, energy security and economic resilience. At a time of geopolitical instability and fossil fuel volatility, companies are not retreating from the transition – they are moving faster toward it,’ said Maria Mendiluce, CEO of the We Mean Business Coalition.
‘Businesses know which way the wind is blowing. This polling highlights that their competitiveness depends on how fast they can electrify with renewable energy,’ said Bruce Douglas, CEO of the Global Renewables Alliance. ‘It is no surprise to see their top request to governments is to build and modernise grids facilitating access to cheap, secure electricity.’
Image: Jimmy Nilsson Masth / Unsplash
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