UK could trail US and EU in green race, MPs warn

NICHOLAS EARL AND JESSICA FRANK-KEYES

MPS ARE piling pressure on the government to compete with rival markets for green investment amid growing concerns the UK could lose out to the US and EU unless it offers a more attractive investment climate for renewable projects.

Philip Dunne, Conservative MP and chairman of the environment audit committee, urged ministers to “act now” to ensure the UK’s global net zero standing was not “eroded” by companies heading overseas.

“Other countries are offering impressive incentives for investment. The UK risks losing immense talent if it fails to make the UK an attractive place for innovators to invest and spur green growth,” Dunne told City A.M.

This follows the passing of the US Inflation Act last summer, including Biden’s $391bn (£324bn) clean energy package –the largest raft of federal climate laws in history – while the EU has vowed to soften state subsidy limits.

Conservative MP Alexander Stafford said the UK could not become complacent.

“There are elements of these funding regimes that the UK should also look to emulate,” he said.

Peter Aldous, another Conservative MP, argued Biden’s legislation had “accelerated the global race to net zero” and posed a “challenge” to UK competitiveness.

Jonathan Reynolds, Labour’s shadow business and industrial strategy secretary, said: “At a time when we should be attracting investment, sadly too many firms are choosing to go elsewhere because the government is failing to offer the stability business needs to thrive.”

The MPs warnings come after industry bodies warned last week the UK was in jeopardy of missing its climate pledges without a plan to rival the US and EU.

Nascent green energy firms such as Sunfire and Zenobe told City A.M. last month they are considering pivoting projects to the US, attracted by its subsidy regime.

Hunt recently described the new US subsidies as a “very real competitive threat” and announced the government would respond in the “next few months”, but warned it wasn’t going to be easy for the UK to match the US.

FUTURE’S BRIGHT Former Buzzfeed exec tapped as new CEO of media giant Future

FUTURE, the media company which owns brands including Marie Claire and Gocompare, has named former Mail and Buzzfeed exec Jon Steinberg as its new chief executive. Steinberg will replace Zillah Byng-Thorne, who resigned last September following a decade at the firm, from 3 April.

Rio Tinto slashes dividend as rising commodity prices hit mining giant

NICHOLAS EARL

HIGHER energy costs, inflation, and downward pressure on commodity prices has weighed on profits at multinational miner Rio Tinto, which has slashed its dividend amid faltering demand.

Underlying earnings have dropped 38 per cent to £11bn ($13.3bn), with the Aussie commodities giant bludgeoned by lower prices for iron ore and copper, bearing the brunt of higher energy and raw materials prices on operations, alongside higher rates of inflation.

Net cash generated from operating activities was also 36 per cent lower than 2021, coming in at £13.3bn ($16.1bn) .

The company was exposed to a higher US tax rate of 30.9 per cent compared with 27.7 per cent in 2021. This increase was primarily due to the $800m write down of deferred tax assets in the US.