coal plant
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The UK's last coal plant has officially closed, marking the beginning of the end of fossil fuels. Its closure foreshadows the dawning of a new industrial era for which the country is devastatingly ill-prepared.

Over the past 30 years, its manufacturing sector has declined by more than a third, and its share of global exports of 'green' products has halved since the 1990s. Its core industries are less diverse and less technologically advanced, leading to situations like that of Port Talbot Steelworks – where an entire community has been devastated by its reliance on carbon-intensive jobs that are no longer viable.

Meanwhile, China's cheap prices have largely taken over the market for green manufacturing. The US is ploughing ahead with its persuasive incentive packages, providing a particularly enticing environment for new business ventures, and the few exporters of critical minerals are shopping around for the best deal.

No wonder many of the UK's clean technology companies are upping and leaving for the US, lured by its lucrative policy landscape of rich pickings and rebates.

If its decline continues unchecked, its fragile economy will continue to spiral as it fails to achieve its climate goals, pushing our planet further towards the brink of catastrophe.

Yet there is a light at the end of this tunnel – and it comes from an unlikely place.

In the past few years, there has been a surge in deals involving companies in the Gulf Arab States. Due to their historic reliance on fossil fuels, these countries have often been ignored by the climate conversation.

However, they are increasingly investing their wealth into developing and expanding clean technologies, demonstrating a keen industrial savviness lacking in British policy.

BP, for example, is advancing its sustainability strategy with the help of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Masdar – a leading clean energy company based in the UAE. Their current partnerships include the production of low-carbon hydrogen and sustainable aeroplane fuel made from solid waste.

More recently, ADNOC has placed a buyout bid for Germany's Covestro. Its generous voluntary takeover offer of €62 per share values the company at €14.7 billion.

Covestro is considered a pioneer of the chemicals industry, credited by some as the "inventor" of modern chemistry. Unlike many of its incumbent peers, it has spent decades exploring the development of innovative, circular products with a reduced ecological impact. ADNOC's willingness to invest in such a sustainably-oriented company demonstrates its commitment to achieving environmental objectives while highlighting its strategic dexterity as it future-proofs its core business and expands into new markets.

However, the deal also promised to benefit the German economy. As the UAE's largest-ever cross-border acquisition, it casts a strong vote of confidence in its manufacturing prowess, safeguarding its industrial jobs while fostering relations with one of the fastest-growing economies in the Gulf region. Germany's industrial sector has been caught up in the same downward spiral as the UK's, and Covestro's deal could be the lifeline it needs.

As fossil fuels are consigned to the history books, with coal already disappearing in the UK and phasing out elsewhere in Europe, foreign investment offers an immense opportunity to revive the UK's failing industrial sector while bringing its climate goals back into reality.

Only then can it maintain its relevance in tomorrow's world.

About the author: Isabel Schatzschneider is an environmental activist and researcher specialising in food ethics, religious ethics and animal welfare. Is an ecological activist and commentator on EU environment policy. She is a Research Associate at the Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen-Nüremberg, and a former researcher at the Schweisfurth Foundation in Munich. She has written for Newsweek, Toronto Star, Euronews, EUobserver, Parliament Magazine, Social Europe, and the UK in a Changing Europe, among other publications.