While much of the initial coverage of the Budget rightly focused on the overall economic situation facing the country, one of the most important underlying stories was the government’s commitment to investing in environmental technologies.
Because alongside plans to invest in jobs, boost the housing industry and provide extra help for savers, the budget contained plans to radically turn around the UK energy market, with proposals including a significant expansion in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and clean coal technology.
This week in fact, we saw the green in the eyes of the government. Traditionally, green issues are the first to be shelved when the going gets tough, now they are central to plans for recovery.
With the Budget, the government has recognized a real opportunity – not just to tackle the immediate effects of the recession but also to invest in the green roots of recovery so that the post-recession Britain is a much more sustainable one.
Energy efficiency was the main focus of the Budget with £375m to help households and businesses cut energy bills and reduce emissions; it will also provide an important stimulus in creating green collar jobs. We also saw £70m of new investment to develop community energy projects, such as new generation Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and £100m for the development of low carbon social housing. The government published its first carbon budget of binding emission reductions as part of our journey to an 80 per cent cut by 2050, becoming the first government in the world to do so in the process.
The most radical announcement this week, however, was the decision not to allow any new coal power plants to be built without CCS technology in operation. In the first instance, this will see up to four different pilot projects being developed in the UK. 25 years after the miners’ strike this is welcome news for the former mining communities and provides an opportunity for the UK to become a world leader in both the technology and engineering jobs required to support it. It will also allow us work closely with countries, such as India and China, in extending clean coal to other parts of the world. This will be crucial in establishing an international position to reduce carbon emissions, a point many critics of coal often overlook.
Taken alongside measures to unlock financing for off-shore wind projects and other forms of renewable energy, this week represents a significant milestone in translating policy into practice. In contrast, the Tories are either silent on how they would pay for their new found green rhetoric or committed to deep cuts across key agencies and departments.
Perhaps it isn’t surprising for a Labour activist to be praising our government’s green budget, but for long-term followers of environmental policy, I suspect it will be surprising to hear that this is not just my opinion. The leadership of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has managed to elicit praise from the environmental lobby, business groups and the TUC alike – an achievement not to be underestimated or undervalued.
None of this negates the huge challenges ahead for either the economy or meeting our long-term obligation to develop a global, low carbon world. But by investing in the new technology, the UK has the potential to develop a new manufacturing and skills base and nurture the green roots of recovery. Surely, that is something worth fighting for in these difficult political times?