The Environmental Industries Commission (EIC) has urged the government to include a self-funded ‘mini green stimulus’ in its pre-budget report to boost the UK’s environmental strategy.
The recommendations are part of a new lobbying campaign launched by the group to stimulate the growth of green jobs and help Britain make the most of what the EIC estimates to be a $3tn (£1.8tn) global market place for environmental products and services.
The group suggests that the mini green stimulus should be financed by efficiency savings made across government, with allocation of the remainder of the £405m announced in the 2009 Budget to support the development of an advanced green manufacturing sector in the UK.
EIC’s policy director, Danny Stevens, said: ‘We believe that a mini green stimulus, financed by efficiency savings, better application of the “polluter pays principle” and targeted allocation of existing public sector funds, is essential for driving the transition to a global low-carbon, resource-efficient economy - with UK businesses and jobs at its heart.’
EIC’s suggestions are supported by its latest report, ‘Stimulating Green Jobs: EIC Recommendations for Supporting the UK’s Environmental Industry in the 2009 Pre-Budget Report’.
The report advises the government to expand its Low Carbon Industrial Strategy by launching a separate Environmental Industrial Strategy and the creation of a Green Jobs Investment Fund to boost low-carbon homes and non-domestic demonstration projects.
The EIC also suggests a programme of air quality retrofit in the UK’s transport fleet by developing a national Framework for Low Emission Zones and an equivalent ‘Enhanced Capital Allowance’ for retrofit technologies.
In addition, it recommends that the government should provide greater support for the UK’s water industry and brownfield developments whilst implementing tighter environmental regulations.
Stevens said that so far the UK has failed to adopt an ambitious green economic stimulus to support job creation, economic development and environmental protection. Whilst he admitted that acting on the green recommendations would be challenging in the current political climate, he added that they would be vital to the future of the economy.
‘The 2009 Budget and the extra £1.4bn for the UK’s environmental sector was inadequate - and put the UK at a competitive disadvantage,’ said Stevens. ‘The forthcoming Pre-Budget Report cannot afford to make the same mistake. The Treasury must show UK leadership in stimulating the economy through support for the high-growth environmental technologies and services that will secure the UK’s competitiveness in the global low-carbon, resource-efficient economy of the future.’
The Environmental Industries Commission (EIC) has urged the government to include a self-funded ‘mini green stimulus’ in its pre-budget report to boost the UK’s environmental strategy.
The recommendations are part of a new lobbying campaign launched by the group to stimulate the growth of green jobs and help Britain make the most of what they estimate to be a $3 trillion global market place for environmental products and services.
The group suggests that the mini green stimulus should be financed by efficiency savings made across government with allocation of the remainder of the £405m announced in the 2009 Budget to support the development of an advanced green manufacturing sector in the UK.
EIC’s policy director, Danny Stevens, said: ‘We believe that a mini green stimulus, financed by efficiency savings, better application of the “polluter pays principle” and targeted allocation of existing public sector funds, is essential for driving the transition to a global low-carbon, resource-efficient economy – with UK businesses and jobs at its heart.’
EIC’s suggestions are supported by its latest report, ‘Stimulating Green Jobs: EIC Recommendations for Supporting the UK’s Environmental Industry in the 2009 Pre-Budget Report’.
The report advises the government to expand its Low Carbon Industrial Strategy by launching a separate Environmental Industrial Strategy and the creation of a Green Jobs Investment Fund to boost low-carbon homes and non-domestic demonstration projects.
The EIC also suggests a programme of air quality retrofit in the UK’s transport fleet by developing a national Framework for Low Emission Zones and an equivalent ‘Enhanced Capital Allowance’ for retrofit technologies.
In addition, it recommends that the government should provide greater support for the UK’s water industry and brownfield developments whilst implementing tighter environmental regulations.
Stevens said that so far the UK has failed to adopt an ambitious green economic stimulus to support job creation, economic development and environmental protection. Whilst he admitted that the acting on the green recommendations would be challenging in the current political climate, he added that they would be vital to the future of the economy.
‘The 2009 Budget and the extra £1.4bn for the UK’s environmental sector was inadequate– and put the UK at a competitive disadvantage,’ he said. ‘The forthcoming Pre-Budget Report cannot afford to make the same mistake. The Treasury must show UK leadership in stimulating the economy through support for the high-growth environmental technologies and services that will secure the UK’s competitiveness in the global low-carbon, resource-efficient economy of the future.’
Engineering industry reacts to Reeves' budget
I´d have to say - ´help´ - in the longer term. It is well recognised that productivity in the UK lags well behind our major industrial competitors and...