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Green Investment Bank Could Spark Low Carbon Industrial Revolution

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Green Investment Bank Could Spark Low Carbon Industrial Revolution

The Government has announced in the Budget today a Green Investment Bank as a central part of its strategy to promote green growth and jobs.

Nick Mabey, Chief Executive of E3G, strongly welcomed the proposal and said:

"With the creation of the world’s first dedicated Green Investment Bank, the UK is now firmly at the forefront of the global race to decarbonisation.”

The Green Investment Bank has been given a clear mandate to invest in the low carbon sector. Such investment will play a crucial role in helping to insulate the UK from future oil price spikes and will strengthen both the energy and climate security of the UK.

The Green Investment Bank could transform the UK economy, creating new green growth, tens of thousands of green jobs and, critically, ensuring the UK remains a globally relevant economy. It will play a pivotal role in reducing the risk of investment in low carbon energy assets. This will in turn lower the costs to the consumer and taxpayers.

The announcement stated:

  • The Bank will have an exclusive low carbon focus;
  • Will receive equity of £2bn, half of which will come from the private sector and half from the sale of public assets;
  • Initial investment focus will be on green transport infrastructure and sustainable electricity generation, particularly offshore wind.

This announcement follows concerted lobbying over the past year in favour of a Green Investment Bank from E3G and their business, investor and NGO partners from the Transform UK alliance. The idea now has broad cross-party consensus.

"The Green Investment Bank, alongside the Committee on Climate Change and carbon budgets, forms a central plank of the UK’s now very credible decarbonisation strategy. Over time it can grow to further support British industry through a diversified range of financial products focusing on energy efficiency, smart and supergrids, renewable energy and carbon capture and storage”

Nick Mabey concluded.

Ends

Editor’s Notes:

1. Transform UK – The Campaign to Re-Power Britain is an alliance dedicated to accelerating investment into the low carbon economy. It is co-ordinated from the offices of E3G.
2. E3G is an independent, non-profit European organisation operating in the public interest to accelerate the global transition to sustainable development.
3. E3G has been working on Green Infrastructure Bank proposals since early 2009, and published a paper in collaboration with Climate Change Capital.
4. The Budget statement can be found here.
5. Cross-sectoral support for the Green Investment Bank can be found at the Aldersgate Group and the Green Alliance.
6. The Conservative Party announcement creating a Green Investment Bank Commission can be found here.
7. For further information please contact:
a. Ingrid Holmes, Programme Leader on Low Carbon Finance Tel: 07825 829 592
b. Ed Matthew, Coordinator of Transform UK – The Campaign to Repower Britain Tel: 07827 157 906

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