London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

UK partners with billionaire Bill Gates to deploy £400mn green investment package London can’t afford on its own

UK partners with billionaire Bill Gates to deploy £400mn green investment package London can’t afford on its own

Boris Johnson has announced a pricey tech partnership with Bill Gates, saying the pairing will set off a “green industrial revolution” capable of meeting Britain’s climate commitments and covering costs London couldn’t pay itself.

“We will only achieve our ambitious climate goals if we rapidly scale up new technologies in areas like green hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuels – technologies that seemed impossible just a few years ago,” the British PM gushed on Tuesday during a speech at a Global Investment Summit in London’s Science Museum ahead of the COP26 climate conference.

Alongside billionaire philanthropist Gates, the PM outlined a plan to deploy £400 million in investments in new green technologies, heralding the Microsoft founder’s cash as the key element in a development program that would otherwise be commercially unfeasible and thus too expensive for the government to undertake alone.

The partnership with a Gates-led coterie of private investors called Breakthrough Energy Catalyst would help advance the UK’s technological position in carbon capture and storage, green hydrogen tech, long-term battery life, and zero-carbon aviation (“jet zero”), Johnson explained, adding that the program would also bring “high-quality jobs” to the UK.

London has already pledged at least £200 million to developing new green technologies, while Microsoft founder Gates promised on Tuesday to match 10 Downing’s commitment with another £200 million via Breakthrough. The software tycoon had previously organized the group of investors to marshal large sums of money into ‘green’ projects.

Promising to scale up environmentally friendly projects and “bring down that cost,” Gates predicted his assistance could “get these [new green energy projects] to the same place we are today with solar and onshore wind, and so they can be scaled up to reduce emissions.”

“Our partnership with the UK will accelerate the deployment of these critical climate solutions, helping to make them more affordable and accessible,” Gates added, explaining that to reach net zero, the cost of “clean technologies” had to be brought down to a point where it could compete with less-green types of energy currently in use.

Johnson made much of the well-heeled crowd soon to be his guests at climate conference COP26, which starts in Glasgow on October 31, noting that altogether, the 200 attendees had a whopping $24 trillion in assets under management.

“We should be using this moment, collectively as governments, to leverage in the trillions of the market, creating the country platforms that will not only tackle climate change but deliver green jobs and green growth around the world.”

After chiding his fellow governments for not embracing the private sector enough in the race to commercialize green tech, the PM dispensed with the pretext of addressing his guests’ human plus-ones entirely, speaking directly to the cash in their pockets.

"I want to say to each and every one of those dollars, you are very welcome to the UK and you have come to the right place at the right time."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×