Britain's transition to net zero presents huge opportunities for small businesses in the country, despite many firms grappling with pandemic-induced challenges such as higher energy prices, says Andrew Griffith, the UK climate action business champion.
Shifting to a low-carbon economy is the “transition of our generation”, Mr Griffith told a seminar hosted by British think tank Policy Exchange. He added that he was “very conscious” of all of the headwinds small businesses have faced in recent months — from the Omicron variant of coronavirus to the supply chain crisis.
“Net zero will be disruptive for small businesses, but that makes a great opportunity, because small businesses tend to be some of the most dynamic, and the businesses that can move first when things change,” Mr Griffith said.
“Some of the small businesses today that operate in this low-carbon space or are providing solutions are going to be very large businesses in the future and that’s incredibly important as we try to build a dynamic, science-based, superpower economy that seeks to make the most advantages of the green industrial revolution.”
Mr Griffith said one of the biggest challenges small business owners face is the fact they are “time limited” with a high opportunity cost on the time of founders.
“I would urge small businesses to engage in this. There are an increasing number of places that they can go to get support as the big challenge with small businesses is often finding out what's there,” he added.
“It's easy if you're a big business: you've got a sustainability department, you've got procurement departments, you can you can crunch through this. But it’s much harder for small businesses to know where to start.”
Britain has put itself front and centre of the shift to net zero, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiling a 10-point plan for a greener economy in November 2020 with a pledge to invest £12 billion in the transition away from fossil fuels.
In October last year, weeks before the UK hosted the Cop26 environmental summit in Glasgow, Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak set out a vision of Britain's future as a global science and tech superpower in his autumn budget, with pledges to boost research and development, incentivise green investments and attract overseas talent.
The UK’s commitment to net-zero emissions is also considered the economy’s best chance of levelling up the country, with Mr Johnson saying in November that government and business working in partnership on the challenge will tackle the “woeful imbalance in productivity across the country".
Mr Griffith said while the government’s job is to sketch out the country’s long-term green goals, there comes a point where they must look to the “ferocious problem-solving of business … to bring forward solutions and do the heavy lifting from here to there”, in turn unleashing entrepreneurs into the economy.
However, Martin McTague, national vice chairman of policy and advocacy at the Federation of Small Businesses, said the priority for many small businesses right now is “survival” because of the tough conditions faced during the Covid-19 crisis.
While small businesses in sectors such as non-essential retail, hospitality and entertainment were forced to close their doors during the series of lockdowns Britain has faced, the challenges have not gone away since reopening.
Fresh hurdles include labour shortages, with job vacancies surging to a record 1.25 million in the fourth quarter of last year, as well as supply chain disruption caused by global challenges, such as the lack of semiconductors and the UK’s dependence on international trade.
The country's reliance on natural gas imports for heating and electricity generation, for example, has seen domestic gas prices skyrocket, with higher energy prices pushing inflation up to 5.4 per cent in December — the highest level since 1992.
Energy bills could increase again in October after a predicted 50 per cent jump for millions of households in the spring when the energy regulator Ofgem raises the price cap, Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive of Energy UK, the trade body for suppliers, said in a separate seminar.
Ms Pinchbeck said bills were expected to rise not only in April but again in October “if nothing changes”, as the spike in wholesale gas prices fed through to domestic bills.
“We haven’t seen anything like this, not in my career or in any of the people who sit on my board,” she said.
Although wholesale prices were expected to drop, “they are still three times higher than we expect to see at this time of the year” and described the situation as “enduring”.
Mr McTague said the situation was “a major concern” for the climate change drive “because some businesses have come through the pandemic in a pretty weak state and are now facing a big hike in energy prices".
“That then pushes down any attempts to lower their carbon footprint down the agenda,” he added.
However, Mr McTague said there is major enthusiasm among small business owners about the transition, with plenty of goodwill and a desire “to do their bit”.
“The problem is that most of them just say, well, I need more information. I'm not really sure what I do next,” he added.
The lack of information and clarity is creating missed opportunities for the government, Mr McTague said, pointing to the government’s push to get households to adopt heat pumps to replace gas boilers.
The plan, first unveiled in October, included the government offering grants of £5,000 to British households to replace their gas boilers with low-carbon heat pumps in an effort to cut emissions from homes and comply with a UK goal for all new heating systems to be low carbon by 2035.
“If you look at something like heat pumps, it's pretty clear that although the ambitions are very big, 600,000 heat pumps a year, there is a bit of a market failure going on at the moment,” said Mr McTague.
“Unless you lower the risk for entry for a lot of SMEs, that market is going to stall at its current level.”
Small business owners that want to invest in electric vehicles are also struggling with the implications of doing so and how it might affect their tax position if they replenish staff who use EVs for their business needs.
Instead, Mr McTague said companies need clarity on how to transition their businesses.
“A lot of people are looking to the government to say, 'Can you clear this thicket of problems out the way so that my decisions are a lot simpler?' Then when it comes to the big hikes in energy prices, that just makes one more obstacle on the way.”
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan v Juventus
Saturday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Watch the match on BeIN Sports
MATCH INFO
Wales 1 (Bale 45 3')
Croatia 1 (Vlasic 09')
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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SHAITTAN
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Two-step truce
The UN-brokered ceasefire deal for Hodeidah will be implemented in two stages, with the first to be completed before the New Year begins, according to the Arab Coalition supporting the Yemeni government.
By midnight on December 31, the Houthi rebels will have to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Issa and Al Saqef, coalition officials told The National.
The second stage will be the complete withdrawal of all pro-government forces and rebels from Hodeidah city, to be completed by midnight on January 7.
The process is to be overseen by a Redeployment Co-ordination Committee (RCC) comprising UN monitors and representatives of the government and the rebels.
The agreement also calls the deployment of UN-supervised neutral forces in the city and the establishment of humanitarian corridors to ensure distribution of aid across the country.
FIGHT CARD
1. Featherweight 66kg
Ben Lucas (AUS) v Ibrahim Kendil (EGY)
2. Lightweight 70kg
Mohammed Kareem Aljnan (SYR) v Alphonse Besala (CMR)
3. Welterweight 77kg
Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)
4. Lightweight 70kg
Omar Ramadan (EGY) v Abdimitalipov Atabek (KGZ)
5. Featherweight 66kg
Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Kagimu Kigga (UGA)
6. Catchweight 85kg
Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) v Iuri Fraga (BRA)
7. Featherweight 66kg
Yousef Al Husani (UAE) v Mohamed Allam (EGY)
8. Catchweight 73kg
Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Abdipatta Abdizhali (KGZ)
9. Featherweight 66kg
Jaures Dea (CMR) v Andre Pinheiro (BRA)
10. Catchweight 90kg
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
EMILY%20IN%20PARIS%3A%20SEASON%203
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5-litre%20twin-turbo%20V6%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E456hp%20at%205%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E691Nm%20at%203%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10-speed%20auto%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E14.6L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh349%2C545%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
RACECARD
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Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
