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Across the world, the transition to a green economy is under threat. Growing antipathy towards the costs of tackling climate change, stoked especially by right-wing populists, undermines ambitions to reach emissions by 2050.

In the UK, leader of the opposition recently ," stating that it would bankrupt the country. Reform, to the right of Badenoch's Conservative party want to .

A new vision of net zero is urgently needed. To help fund the UK's transition to a green economy, the UK government seeks to attract private investment from international corporations that are not based in the UK.

The Indian company in electric vehicles (EVs) and battery production in the UK. Danish company in UK offshore windfarms in the last decade. French company EDF Energy in net zero technologies and infrastructure in the UK.

This approach comes with considerable risks. Profits can be extracted , which benefits the shareholders of international corporations, not UK businesses.

Ownership can also change between private entities and move even further afield. Last year, Orsted sold stakes in four UK offshore wind farms .

But there's an alternative that directly strengthens the resilience of the UK's economy. is a model of economic development that ensures any profits generated from new green industries are recirculated within the local economy.

To make this happen, communities need support from so-called . These are large organizations that are "anchored" to their local economy and cannot relocate, because their ownership structure is tied to a particular location. Think universities, hospitals or local government institutions.

Within this approach, anchor institutions procure goods and services from nearby suppliers, so they circulate money locally and strengthen regional supply chains.

This concept originated over a decade ago in the . It's since been applied in , , and the .

For the past four years, I've been is becoming embedded in the UK's .

UK anchors and the green economy

In , Preston city council the procurement spend of anchor institutions located in Preston city to the tune of £112.3 million in 2020—£74 million more than in 2012/13.

In Oldham in northern England, the council supported the development of community-led energy plans in two neighborhoods, . The plans outlined what a decarbonized heat, electricity and transport system would look like for each area. The council launched a website to share energy efficiency advice. The council also helped to set up two local community energy projects.

installed solar panels on five primary schools and a community building to reduce their energy bills. have used excess profits from the sale of renewable electricity in 2023 to .

The in southern England have committed to using community wealth building to . to increase their energy efficiency, with retrofit contracts arranged with local companies. EVs are being used to collect food waste. New sustainable housing is being built by local tradespeople using locally sourced materials wherever possible.

The hosts community events and green business workshops in a council-owned property. Procurement spend by local anchor institutions has also doubled .

In , two municipally owned solar PV farms on council-owned land have generated a £13 million budget surplus. This has been redirected towards addressing fuel poverty by . The council's new green jobs fund has supported over £1.14 million of investment into 65 businesses to enable a range of sustainability-related measures.

Encouragingly, more plans to bring together community wealth building and net zero continue to emerge. In London, partnerships between anchor institutions and community energy organizations could be integral to developing 1,000 community energy projects .

Successful scale-up of community wealth building will require strong leadership, political commitments and supporting strategies that align with the green economy. Already, some initiatives are beginning to generate wealth through the green economy and keeping it in local communities, rather than ownership and profits going to distant corporations.

To counter a rising opposition to net zero in the UK, prioritizing community-focused visions that revive local economies will be vital.

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