Ashden responds to UK's £3billion green jobs plan

Chancellor must back green investment with policy action

News

Posted By:

Craig Burnett

Senior Communications Officer

Ashden CEO Harriet Lamb has said the £3bn green jobs plan announced by the Chancellor today will be undermined without a new policy approach.

She said: “Ashden welcomes the announcement of new funding for retrofit of homes and public buildings, including schools. But this must be matched by long-term policy certainty – the last few years have brought a mess of stop-start energy-efficiency programmes. This chaos has been disastrous for the green businesses central to any low-carbon economy. We need coherent policies to match this promising first step.”

“A new green jobs plan must also put local authorities front and centre. Councils are vital to delivering climate action, and more than 70% have already declared a climate emergency – but in the wake of coronavirus they face huge funding shortages.

“A recovery that is locally-led, working together with communities and properly-resourced councils, will see more uptake of the new energy efficiency incentives, and deliver wider benefits such as better health, skills training and local economic growth.”

“Finally, the Government must step up its ambition. If we truly want to be world-beating, we should top the £37bn of green stimulus pledged by Germany.”

Ashden is part of a new coalition of local government, environmental and research organisations calling for national government to support and resource local councils to help deliver a green recovery.

Frontline organisations delivering green jobs

Ashden works with a range frontline enterprises and organisations that can play a key role in green recovery plans. Find out more here.

Energy efficient schools

Ashden’s LESS CO2 programme helps schools reduce energy use, protecting their budgets and the planet. Ashden also backs the student-led Teach the Future campaign, which calls for climate on the curriculum and for all new state-funded educational buildings to be built carbon net-zero from 2020 onwards, and for all existing state-funded educational buildings to be carbon net-zero by 2030.

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News, resources and events for local authorities

Our towns and cities bulletin helps you deliver high-impact climate action. Discover useful tools and opportunities, whatever your council’s size and budget.

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