Foreign investment deals to create 30,000 jobs in the UK, the government says

The low-carbon foreign investment deals in the UK that will be announced on Tuesday will create around 30,000 jobs, the government said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce 18 new deals worth £ 9.7 billion at the opening of a global investment summit.

They include investments in sectors such as wind and hydrogen energy, sustainable housing and carbon capture.

The prime minister said investors recognized “the huge potential in the UK for growth and innovation”.

Investments from companies like Spanish energy company Iberdrola, logistics company Prologis and food service Getir would fuel the UK’s economic recovery and help meet the government’s leveling agenda, he added.

Johnson will open the Global Investment Summit in London on Tuesday, bringing together more than 200 corporate executives.

The government has assembled a formidable guest list from the great and the good of global business for an investment summit that it hopes will alert other international investors to opportunities in the UK.

The heads of the largest investment firm in the world, Blackrock, the largest bank in the United States, JP Morgan, as well as the heads of energy giants such as EDF will gather at the Science Museum in London.

Announcements of nearly £ 10bn of UK investment have been scheduled to coincide with the event.

By far the largest single investment is in the Spanish company Iberdrola, which owns Scottish Power. Its announcement of an additional £ 6bn in offshore wind investments – on top of £ 10bn over the past five years – will solidify the UK’s position as a world leader in offshore wind, just two weeks before the major climate summit in Glasgow.

The recent rise in gas prices has brutally exposed the UK and EU’s dependence on fossil fuels, which could also encourage French company EDF that their plans for a new Sizewell nuclear power plant in Suffolk will get the government’s blessing. . The EDF president is expected to have a working lunch with the secretary of affairs, Kwasi Kwarteng.

The government hopes this summit will help reverse the declining trend in foreign investment in new projects since 2015.

Next, Johnson will take part in a panel discussion with Microsoft cofounder and philanthropist Bill Gates on the role of private companies in tackling climate change.

Iberdrola, which owns Scottish Power, will confirm it will invest an additional £ 6bn in offshore wind farms off the Suffolk coast.

Wind turbines in its East Anglia “hub” are set to create around 7,000 jobs, though they have yet to obtain planning permission.

Prologis will commit to investing £ 1.5 billion in the UK over the next three years to develop zero-carbon warehouses in London, the South East and the Midlands, supporting around 14,000 new jobs.

“We believe that private sector innovation has, and will continue to play, an important role in overcoming the environmental challenges facing the world today,” said Hamid Moghadam, chief executive of Prologis.

Meanwhile, Getir plans to invest more money in expanding its businesses across the UK. The company uses a fleet of electric vehicles and aims to create around 7,000 permanent jobs in 2022.

Ultimate Battery Company will also invest £ 28 million in setting up a UK plant for environmentally friendly batteries.

On Tuesday, the UK government is expected to announce its overall strategy to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors, including industry, agriculture, transport and housing.

The government has pledged to drastically reduce emissions by 2035 and reach net zero by 2050, which means the country will absorb as much carbon dioxide (through actions like tree planting) as it emits.

The announcements come just two weeks before the start of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, one of the largest global gatherings to date on how to tackle global warming.