The UK push into emerging green industries including hydrogen, carbon capture, batteries and floating wind turbines is under threat as the US and EU boost incentives for domestic green technologies, business leaders and politicians have warned.

Industry groups are urging Rishi Sunak’s government to set out more ambitious plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions and develop clean energy manufacturing and jobs, or risk being left behind by competitors in the two much larger trading blocs of North America and Europe.

British politicians have also sounded the alarm about a wave of “protectionism” prompted by the Biden $369bn green incentives bill, known as the Inflation Reduction Act. It has triggered an EU response this week, with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen indicating the bloc will loosen state aid rules on tax credits for green investment.