UK Clean Energy Transition Must Be Paired With Domestic Manufacturing Growth, New Report Warns

A new report from Net Zero North West (NZNW) warns that the UK's clean energy transition cannot be delivered without a thriving domestic manufacturing sector, arguing that industrial growth and decarbonisation are fundamentally linked rather than competing priorities. The report, titled *Why Industry Matters*, identifies the North West of England as one of the UK's most significant industrial regions and contends that delivering the energy transition depends on the successful deployment of clean, reliable, and affordable energy infrastructure while simultaneously maintaining the competitiveness of domestic industry. The report reflects a growing policy concern that the UK risks exporting industrial activity and carbon emissions simultaneously if it pursues decarbonisation without ensuring that manufacturing supply chains — including those needed to build and maintain clean energy infrastructure — are developed domestically. This tension between energy policy and industrial strategy is increasingly relevant to UK regulatory frameworks governing clean energy investment and procurement. No specific regulatory decisions, named statutory frameworks, or adviser appointments are set out in the available source material.