Leading the post-industrial revolution? Policy windows, issue linkage and decarbonization dynamics in the UK’s net-zero strategy (2010–2022)

Industrial decarbonization and the net-zero climate strategy has arisen as one of the most important policy challenges of the modern era. But how do industrial decarbonization policy efforts link with other issues? The UK claims to be the first major economy in the world to posit a net-zero target. In this paper, drawn from an original qualitative dataset involving expert interviews (N = 46), site visits (N = 20), and a review of the literature, we explore ongoing policy windows and efforts to decarbonize both the Humber and Merseyside. These regions have aggressive implementation plans in place for the deployment of net-zero infrastructure, with Zero Carbon Humber and HyNet seeking billions of dollars of investment to build green and blue hydrogen facilities coupled with carbon storage networks. These two clusters are leading national net-zero ambitions, with actual, enforceable timetables to achieve decarbonization. Investigating the unfolding efforts being undertaken by these two regions to decarbonize industry offers insight into the “green gold rush” and nascent business opportunities in the so-called carbon economy, including large-scale investment of capital into the policies nominally designed to tackle climate change. Through the identification of 24 different issues linked to decarbonization, the paper also offers more conceptual depth into the interplay between policy windows and issue linkage, which coevolve and shape each other as net-zero ambitions solidify.