UK rolling out green carpet for Global Investment Summit

The UK Government will roll out the green carpet for some of the world’s most powerful executives and heads of major institutions at a Global Investment Summit (GIS) later this year.

Hosted by the Prime Minister and supported by members of the Royal Family, the summit will galvanise foreign investment in the UK’s green industries of the future ahead of COP26 in November.

Taking place in October, the one-day meeting is expected to catalyse billions of pounds of investment by attracting hundreds of the world’s leading businesses and investment A-listers to London and Windsor Castle.

By showcasing the very best of the UK’s clean technologies and innovative companies, the summit will also drive forward the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan for a green recovery, demonstrating how £12 billion of government investment is creating and supporting up to 250,000 highly-skilled green jobs in the UK, and spurring more three times as much private sector investment by 2030.

The summit will also underpin why the UK is a global hub for green technology and finance, and make the case for global investment in UK companies, whether it’s in the mass-scale production of electric vehicle batteries in the Midlands and the North of England, or developing the first town heated entirely by hydrogen by the end of the decade.

International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss, said:

The UK was one of the first governments in the world to set a net zero target by 2050 and we are still leading the global shift to clean economic growth.

From wind turbines in Scotland to hydrogen development in Wales, the Global Investment Summit will be a fantastic opportunity to secure investment deals into the best of British green industry, allowing us to build back better, stronger and greener.

We look forward to rolling out the green carpet for some of the world’s leading businesses, helping to drive investment into all corners of the country.

Minister for Investment, Gerry Grimstone, said:

The UK is one of the best investment destinations in the world and we are thrilled to be hosting a Global Investment Summit that will boost green investment, jobs and growth.

Around the world, investors are looking to sustainability, whether that be in technology, real estate and construction, finance, automotive or energy. Individuals and businesses are heightening their interest in industries of the future, and there is no better place to invest than in the UK’s already vibrant clean and green industries.

The summit builds on the success of the newly-established UK Office for Investment, which recently secured a landmark agreement between Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company and the UK Government for a £1bn commitment to life sciences.

The UK remains one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world and our foreign direct investment (FDI) stock levels reached £1.6 trillion by the end of 2019. Since 2017, FDI into the UK has created 189,710 jobs, including 3,513 in the renewable energy sector.

The summit also will help drive further investment into every UK nation and region, reinvigorating our industrial heartlands and complementing the Government’s recently established Trade and Investment Hubs, which will channel the economic benefits of international trade directly into Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the North of England.

Earlier this month, government-led research showed exports supported 6.5m jobs across the UK, 74% of which were outside London. The research estimated jobs directly and indirectly supported by exports paid around 7% higher than the national median, with Office for National Statistics estimating that goods exporting businesses are also 21% more productive.