The idea, which originated from the New Economics Foundation, involves tackling climate change and addressing unemployment by focusing on creating new green collar jobs. These jobs will come in developing our renewable energy infrastructure, redesigning the national grid so that every home can become a power station, transforming the energy efficiency of businesses and households, and making the UK the centre for green businesses and environmental technologies.
Britain should position itself at the heart of this ‘Green New Deal’; so that we can take advantage of these new green collar jobs. The European Union has already committed to three million green collar jobs by 2020. Employment in the environmental sector has been growing at seven per cent since the year 2000, whilst the UK wind energy sector has seen a 91 per cent leap in employment over the last three years, and now employs more people than the coal industry. However, the UK is importing 80 per cent of renewable energy equipment and services from abroad, whereas Denmark has anticipated the future and now half of all wind turbines are produced by Danish manufacturers. We should seize the opportunities that will arrive as a result of the need to tackle climate change and become a centre for renewable energy, energy efficiency; and low carbon industries.
New forms of investment and financial incentives will be required to drive this Green transformation. Provisional calculations suggest that the investment needed to deliver this Green New Deal; and to ensure the UK meets its carbon reduction commitments stands at between £30 billion and £50 billion per year, close to the investment made by Roosevelt’s New Deal. It is estimated that this could create at least 800,000 new jobs. Green New Deal advocates have identified that this investment could in part come from carbon taxes and carbon trading as well as a windfall tax on oil and gas companies. Public spending could be matched by using tax incentives to encourage the diversion of private capital from individuals, pension funds, banks and other financial institutions. This is the basis for the proposed Green Investment Bank, which was conceived to establish an independent institution to change the investment equation for low carbon infrastructure.
However, many are concerned that the preoccupation of the coalition with cuts will prevent the UK from building the green infrastructure we need. Sir David King, the former chief scientific adviser recently commented:’ ‘There appears to be a danger that as economic conditions worsen politicians are preparing to abandon the green strategies that until recently were close to the top of their agendas. This would be disastrous… It is in the time of economic austerity that finding ways to increase efficiency of energy usage becomes most important.’
For example according to Ernst & Young, to be effective the Green Investment Bank required a capitalisation of at least £4 to £6 billion over the next four years. However, the coalition has pledged just £1 billion. At the same time Defra is facing the largest cut of any government department and these cuts will see less not more investment in essential infrastructure upgrades and spending on low carbon technologies. Former environment minister Tim Yeo recently likened cuts to spending on low carbon technologies to ‘cutting the budget for Spitfires in 1939′.
Towns like Swindon where I am a councillor could benefit massively from a Green New Deal. In the last century the decline of the railways forced Swindon to undergo its own economic transformation; and the inward investment from Honda, BMW, Motorola and Nationwide among others made Swindon into a powerhouse of economic growth and zero unemployment. However, Swindon is vulnerable to the fortunes of Honda, which itself will need to change its business model as the car industry moves from away from petrol. Honda is currently proposing to erect wind turbines at its factory in Swindon as part of a new business direction for the company. At the same time the M4 is set to become a hydrogen highway to create the infrastructure for hydrogen, electric and compressed gas powered cars. This will create the opportunity for attract new cutting-edge companies to Swindon, providing the opportunity for an economic and environmental transformation of the town.
Overall the fundamental political challenge is the need for a clear plan for the economic and environmental future of Britain to build the new businesses, the new jobs and the new economy that our country needs. The Green New Deal provides a coherent and sustainable way forward to reduce our dependence on the banks, address climate change, and build the businesses and the jobs of the future. Just as Roosevelt did in the 1930s we should pledge ourselves to a new deal – a Green New Deal. It is the challenge we must meet and the call we must answer.
Mark Dempsey is a councillor in Swindon, was PPC for the Cotswolds in 2010and works as an environmental policy Adviser
Read also… other contributions to the Environment and Climate Change column
so his Georgeness HEARS people who view life from the rear view mirror of their volvo estate (well he said fuel = family ) so? Surely raised prices will hit businesses most,they just don’t sound like ‘voters ‘ though, eh eh mr politics !