After a rocky first 100 days in power, Britain's Labour government will tout its flagship green policies as a key early win to the world on Monday, at an investment summit meant to raise funds for a march towards net zero.
The government said more than £24 billion ($31.36 billion) of green investment was already in the bag in what Prime Minister Keir Starmer called a “huge vote of confidence” in the UK, before the wide-ranging summit involving Google and banks such as Barclays and HSBC.
With a belt-tightening budget expected on October 30, Mr Starmer is relying on the private sector for at least two of his five “missions” to renew the UK, namely spurring economic growth and making Britain a clean energy “superpower”.
Labour has approved new solar farms, lifted a virtual ban on onshore wind parks and moved to set up an £8.3 billion ($10.85 billion) Great British Energy company in the hope of creating attractive conditions for investors.
Several offshore wind contracts were awarded in a September auction, after the last round under the previous Conservative government had flopped with no uptake from investors. Britain raised the pot available to £1.5 billion ($1.96 billion) to lure interest.
At least two thirds to three quarters of the investment needed for net zero will have to come from the private sector, said Ed Matthew, a director of climate think tank E3G. He said Labour's early moves will “send a very strong signal to investors globally that the UK is really serious”.
Ministers “are obviously coming under a lot of pressure in lots of quarters, but when it comes to clean energy there's absolutely no question that they've hit the ground running,” he told The National. “I think it's fair to say they've been pulling out all the stops since they came in.”
Green targets
Labour has set a target of generating exclusively clean power by 2030, in what has been described as a “stretch target” to spur the industry into action. Britain's last coal-fired power station symbolically went offline on September 30, but gas still provides a big chunk of its electricity, especially when wind is low.
Beyond cleaning up the power grid, Labour has ambitions for green steelmaking, carbon capture and trading in hydrogen fuel, backed by a £7.3 billion ($9.54 billion) National Wealth Fund. Ministers portray their plans as a boost for Britain's energy security as well as the planet.
The UK has also appointed a diplomatic envoy for climate change, Rachel Kyte, after the position had been left vacant under the Conservatives. Labour accused the previous government of damaging Britain's reputation on climate change.
At home, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is a favourite target for the Conservatives in opposition, who accuse him of an overly meddlesome approach to net zero. Both remaining Tory leadership candidates, Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch, attacked him in their party conference speeches.
However, Labour sees net zero as an area of progress, and appointed a team of clean power commissioners on Friday to oversee its 2030 plans. Businesswoman Poppy Gustafsson was named Investment Minister days before the summit in London.
The £24 billion of private funding already priced in by the government includes plans by Spanish company Iberdrola to double its investment in the UK, including in an East Anglia wind farm. Downing Street quoted its chairman Ignacio Galan as hailing Britain's “clear and stable policies”.
Wind farm contracts awarded to Danish energy giant Orsted and Portugal's Greenvolt will bring in a total of more than £10 billion, the government said. Orsted's chief executive Mads Nipper said there were signs that Britain “wants to work with businesses”.
Although Monday's summit will not raise all the money required, Labour will want investors to use it as an opportunity for announcements, Mr Matthew said. He said pushing for the clean power target could also help Mr Starmer achieve his economic growth mission.
“The UK is in a global competition for net zero technologies, and the world's beginning to ramp up deployment of renewables. The investment will flow to those countries that have the most attractive policies in place to make it happen,” he said. “There are plenty of other opportunities for investors around the world.”
Manchester United v Club America
When: Thursday, 9pm Arizona time (Friday UAE, 8am)
The biog
Name: Mariam Ketait
Emirate: Dubai
Hobbies: I enjoy travelling, experiencing new things, painting, reading, flying, and the French language
Favourite quote: "Be the change you wish to see" - unknown
Favourite activity: Connecting with different cultures
Motori Profile
Date started: March 2020
Co-founder/CEO: Ahmed Eissa
Based: UAE, Abu Dhabi
Sector: Insurance Sector
Size: 50 full-time employees (Inside and Outside UAE)
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Safe City Group
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal advisor
Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.
Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
More on Quran memorisation:
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
INFO
What: DP World Tour Championship
When: November 21-24
Where: Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae.
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Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Secret Pigeon Service: Operation Colomba, Resistance and the Struggle to Liberate Europe
Gordon Corera, Harper Collins
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
