Green industry to help recovery
29.06.10
Green industry could be a driving force behind the economic recovery, according to the environmental group, Friends of the Earth.
Simon Bullock, economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: "I appreciate that there are major problems with the UK's deficit and debt, but the green economy and the green technology sector will be big drivers of future economic growth."
He added the importance of the new government's “support of these industries, whether its offshore renewable or energy efficiency or low carbon vehicles.”
This came in response to chancellor George Osborne’s emergency budget last week, where he announced plans but the government to create a green investment bank and commit to a carbon floor price.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne also made a pledge to support green industries at the Economist UK Energy Summit last week, claiming the government would lead a “green revolution”.
He said: “The type of growth is crucial. Simply going back to dependence on fossil fuels would be folly,” adding that it is the governments “responsibility to support infant and emerging technologies.”
He also re-pledged the coalitions support for new nuclear builds to the conference, but promised past mistakes will not be re-lived saying: “The coalition agreement is clear that new nuclear can and will go ahead – but only so long as there is no public subsidy, a pledge robustly guaranteed by the state of the public finances.
“We will learn from past mistakes. Streamlining planning, dealing with waste, reprocessing and decommissioning, and a clear policy framework.”