I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard this Government say, “we’re the greenest government ever”. But the first full budget of this Government seems to fail that test.
“The Chancellor has demonstrated that the self-professed ‘greenest government ever’ is more of an anaemic beige.” said Dr Victoria Johnson, Head of the Climate Change and Energy Programme at nef.
The Chancellor doesn’t appear to realise that living within our means is also about how we live with dwindling natural resources. This budget continues with the failed policies of the past – unsustainable growth based on dwindling and ever-more expensive resources.
The “green deal” was showing how money invested in energy-saving measures could sustain far more jobs than other forms of government spending, and also contribute to reducing fuel poverty, improving health and tackling climate change. Today, the arguments in favour are stronger.
The green investment bank: This should have been the key to unlocking £450bn in finance for renewable energy needed in the next 15 years. Instead, by creating a bank that cannot borrow, its impact will be limited to the original £3bn funding. But it won’t be a bank as it will have no lending powers until 2015 at the earliest. And even then, it can’t borrow money until “the target for [national] debt to be falling as a percentage of GDP has been met.” So instead of calling it a “bank” lets just call it what it is, a “fund”.
Carbon floor prices: At £30 a tonne, the new levy on carbon will not promote much low-carbon energy, but it will give nuclear power companies a windfall subsidy of between £1.3bn and £3bn – paid for by the “hard-pressed families” that Osborne claims he wants to help. Yet existing nuclear generators will be the main beneficiaries of this scheme and without complimentary policies such as a strong Emissions Performance Standard, it will fail to support the clean, green renewable projects that we need. It also brings into question the Government’s commitment not to provide public subsidy for new nuclear.
Zero-carbon homes: The chancellor has changed the rules so that supposedly “zero-carbon” homes would in fact create carbon emissions for years to come. It will also undermine many community energy schemes.
Fuel Duty: The government cut fuel duty by a penny, suspended future rises for a year, suspended the escalator for the rest of this parliament and committed itself to a new type of fuel stabiliser – cutting duty on fuel as the price of oil goes up. Would it not have been more responsible to acknowledge that we cannot continue to rely on fossil fuels and done more to encourage the switch to other fuel sources?
This was a chance to build a greener, cleaner and more sustainable economy, creating jobs and tackling climate change. But when it mattered, the old politics and the old economics won.
