Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has shared its insights into the renewable energy sector and the opportunities presented by green technologies in the latest Whitehall Industry Group (WIG) report which has just been launched.

WIG is an independent charity that brings business, government and the not-for-profit sector closer together, to learn from each other and co-create solutions.

The report – Enhancing Cross-Sector Collaboration: The UK as a world leader in 'green-tech' – examines the ways in which the UK can cement its position as a world-leader in green tech and low-carbon innovation, focusing on the key challenges and opportunities for policy and decision makers across the sectors.

Discussing the UK’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities that are there to be seized, contributors from a range of organisations including WBD, Imperial College London, Shell and Arup examine where there is need for increased collaboration between industry, academia, government and the not-for-profit sector and bring out a number of valuable perspectives.

The report highlights that the UK will need to reduce its carbon emissions by 80% by 2035 to achieve its current net zero target. This means that greater ambition and collaboration across the sectors will be vital. The UK will need to expand rapidly its carbon capture utilisation and storage capabilities, while turning toward resource-efficient manufacturing. Where a gap currently exists between policy ambition and technological capability, connecting industry and government with the education sector and the UK’s innovation hubs will be key to unlocking the technological development that will enable these advancements.

In the report, Richard Cockburn, head of energy at WBD, looks at the impact the UK's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will have on the green agenda, the role large tech businesses play in supporting innovation, the areas where we could see enhanced collaboration between the private and public sectors and, in the aftermath of Brexit, how the UK will continue to cooperate with European neighbours around green tech.

Richard comments:

"Thanks to WIG for giving us the opportunity to contribute to this very interesting and insightful report providing different viewpoints from various organisations. There are clear opportunities for the UK to expand its domestic ambitions rapidly through multi-sector collaboration by leveraging the expertise and technological innovation that we see happening across industries."

"As the UK recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, the government’s strategy will need to be aligned closely with a green recovery as the regions impacted the most by the transition from fossil fuels look for new opportunities."

WBD's energy team has been immersed in the energy and natural resources sector for decades, giving it great depth of experience across the various different forms of energy and power. The firm advises on the full span of renewable energy technologies and power projects, acting for developers, investors, operators, the supply chain, regulators and other energy stakeholders. The firm also advises companies in the oil and gas industry on how to further their decarbonisation agendas. Relying on three decades of experience in the energy industry, WBD's energy lawyers identify the best routes through the complex issues that affect those operating in the sector.

Download the report here.

Enhancing cross-sector collaboration: The UK as a world leader in green tech