The sector is now the fourth largest in the business world, surpassing healthcare.
As reported last week by Bloomberg, the ‘green economy’ — all lines of global listed companies that make money from solutions to the climate crisis, is now worth $10 trillion and rising. revenue from environmental products and services accounts for around half of that, topping $5.5 trillion in 2025 after expanding at its fastest rate since 2022.
China remains the most aggressive driver of growth. In 2025, the country’s green energy sector accounted for one-third of its overall economic growth, 90% of increased investment, and ranked as larger than all but seven of the world’s national economies — one of which is China itself.
In the UK, the net zero economy is now worth £105 billion to the country’s finances, and supports 1.1 million full-time equivalent jobs across the country. Broken down into individual employees, the average economic value per staff member is £119,300, almost 50% higher than the national average across all sectors. Wages are also performing extremely competitively, coming in at 11% higher than the British benchmark.
‘British scientists first distilled the concept of net zero – simply put, you need to stop adding more emissions to the atmosphere (than are sucked back out) otherwise temperatures won’t stabilise; you have to stop adding to the problem or you won’t stop climate change,’ said Pete Chalkley, Director, Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, in the organisation’s latest report, published earlier this month.
‘This British science, that scientific fact, has spawned a global race to cut emissions,’ he continued. ‘When countries and US States committed to net zero are combined, 84% of global GDP is covered. This year will mark five years since the Glasgow COP climate conference when the UK helped kick-start the global drive to net zero. Now more than 1,200 of the world’s largest 2,000 companies have a net zero commitment.’
Image: Jesse Wilkens / Unsplash
More on green jobs and industry:
Wiltshire gets new Green Skills Innovation Centre funded through renewables
Whiteness of green: RACE Report, representation, climate and sustainability
Homegrown heroes: UK’s first Green Future Fellows rewarded for eco efforts