Stephanie Pfeifer, IIGCC CEO, reacts to the UK Government's Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026
"Today’s measures to reduce household and industrial energy costs are welcome. In a period of heightened exposure to global energy price volatility, they can support a just and politically durable transition. But short-term relief must be matched by sustained investment in clean power, energy efficiency and grid infrastructure if the UK is to deliver net zero and secure long-term green growth.
The central investment challenge is to make clean electricity cheaper to use, easier to connect and capable of supporting industrial growth. We therefore welcome the government’s focus on delivering cheaper, faster grid connections through GB Grid. Investors will now look for detail on how these reforms will work in practice, including for connection queues, network investment and the wider investment environment.
Additional funding for the National Wealth Fund and British Business Bank is also positive and could help bridge the gap between climate ambition and investable opportunities. Its impact will depend on deployment, the extent to which it shares and reduces risk, and its ability to mobilise additional private capital. Public finance institutions have a critical role in de-risking projects, crowding in private investment and building a visible pipeline of investable opportunities. To maximise their impact, the government should align public finance deployment with the UK’s industrial strategy and sector transition pathways.
For investors, however, the value of these announcements will depend not only on funding committed, but on stable and predictable policy frameworks. Recent uncertainty around the ZEV mandate is a reminder that policy reversals can undermine confidence precisely where long-term capital is most needed. IIGCC’s response to the ZEV mandate consultation sets out why maintaining the mandate is critical to sustaining investor confidence and long-term capital allocation across the UK’s EV transition and wider green economy.
Investors now need a clearer roadmap for delivery across the wider energy transition, including planning reform, grid expansion, connection reform, a predictable clean power deployment pipeline and long-term policy certainty across priority industrial sectors. These priorities are set out in our July 2026 report.
The Budget also leaves open questions on how the government intends to mobilise private investment in nature recovery and climate adaptation and resilience. These are essential to long-term economic resilience and represent significant opportunities for institutional capital, provided clear policy frameworks, revenue models and investable project pipelines are in place.
The priority now is delivery. Investors want to see these measures translated into a coherent programme that strengthens industrial competitiveness, improves energy security and maintains momentum towards the UK’s net zero goals."