Imagine somebody
telling you that 20 years from now almost everything
you do in your life you will do differently.
That is how fundamental the transition to a
low-carbon economy in the UK will be. Many of
the changes in the way we generate the energy
and in the supply chains that produce the goods
we use may not affect us directly. But the changes
will nevertheless be profound.
Convinced of the economic and environmental
urgency of change, the UK and Europe have adopted
some of the most ambitious climate change targets
in the world. By the middle of this century,
all the UK's goods and services will need to
be produced using one tenth of the carbon they
do today.
We have changed the law to speed up the adoption
of energy generated by wind, solar and tidal
power, to encourage the development of low-carbon
vehicles and to put a price on carbon emissions.
The shift to low carbon in the UK and around
the world is now largely inevitable. What is
not inevitable is that Britain benefits industrially
from the transition in both the short and long
term. Yet the benefits to the economy are potentially
huge, both in terms of money saved through a
quick shift to energy efficiency and through
building companies capable of competing in the
huge global market for low-carbon goods and
services, now worth £3 trillion a year and growing
fast. British taxpayers and businesses could
benefit from more resource-efficient businesses
and public buildings, saving billions of pounds
a year.
Research released today shows that more than
a million people in the UK could be employed
in the low-carbon sector by the middle of the
next decade, in everything from manufacturing
and construction to environmental consultancy
and low-carbon venture capital.
To achieve these things, Britain will need
a strategic approach from government that combines
the right targets to drive the shift to low
carbon and an industrial activism that supports
British companies and British workers in competing
for the opportunities that will be created. |
The vision of a low-carbon
industrial strategy that we are launching today
will help us explore solutions with businesses,
unions, environmentalists and others. We will
specifically focus on four fundamental issues
- each of which reflects an area where the UK
now needs to make a step change.
First, we know energy efficiency is key for businesses;
it helps to save money and reduce carbon emissions.
However, in a downturn and with credit conditions
tight, it is understandable that making changes
or investing in energy efficiency measures can
be a difficult decision to make, even if the costs
of change are quickly covered by the savings.
Today we are exploring how Government
can work together with business to make the shift
quicker and easier.
We are also committed to setting
the right example in the public sector and are
looking for ways to scale up the Government's
own shift to energy efficiency - saving British
taxpayers billions in the process.
Second, the UK must now begin
to shift its energy generation infrastructure
on to more sustainable sources and create an electricity
grid that is both energy efficient and adaptable
to new forms of power.
Our commitment to new nuclear
power has made the UK the second most attractive
market in the world for nuclear investment, we
have put measures in place for a huge expansion
of renewable electricity and we are determined
to drive forward trials of carbon capture and
storage to clean up how we use coal.
Today we are inviting industry
leaders to voice their opinions and share their
expertise with us so these changes can truly benefit
the UK economy and equip British companies to
compete for similar clean energy business overseas.
'The
shift to low carbon is vital in helping the country
to fight its way out of the downturn'
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Third, we have created a £350
million package to help Britain to make the shift
to low-carbon vehicles. In tandem, we need to
act to make the UK the best place in the world
to demonstrate, develop or manufacture low-carbon
vehicles or their components. This is a huge global
market in which the UK has the potential to be
a leader. But it will mean a more coherent approach
from government in how we sponsor research, promote
innovation and attract manufacturing. Finally
and fundamentally, to really capture the benefits
of the global shift to low carbon, the UK needs
to be the best place in the world to locate or
build a low-carbon business. That means policies
that make research and development here easy and
productive, infrastructure that meets the needs
of low-carbon innovators and a training system
that helps British workers get trie skills the}1
will need to handle new technologies and ways
of doing things. Today we will be asking for recommendations
on how we do this and more. These recommendations
will shape a comprehensive Low Carbon Industrial
Strategy for the UK. The shift to low' carbon
is vital to creating the jobs and growth that
will help the UK fight its way out of the downturn.
But this is more than a green job creation scheme,
or "greening" the recovery. This is about looking
beyond the short term, to Britain's industrial
future. Low carbon is not a sector of our economy.
It is, or will be, our whole economy and a global
market. While the shift to low carbon requires
significant change and adaptation, it also has
huge economic and industrial benefits if we combine
a strategic approach from government with the
dynamism of private enterprise and compete for
them. A low-carbon industrial strategy must seize
the opportunities that will come with change.
That requires a hew industrial activism for a
new green industrial revolution.
The writers are
the Energy and Qimate Change Secretary and the
Business Secretary
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