The Green Investment Gap is the first comprehensive audit of UK green investment, launched today by PIRC.
The Coalition Government has declared it wishes to be ‘the greenest government ever’. In a time of fiscal retrenchment and huge cuts in public spending, the surest commitment to the green economy will come through policies to stimulate green investment.
The report highlights the scale of the green investment challenge facing the UK – finding that Britain devoted just £12.6bn towards green investment in 2009-10. This figure amounts to less than 1% of UK GDP; less than what Britain spends on furniture annually; and less than half the annual green investment needed over the next decade to build the green economy.
Yet this challenge also represents a huge opportunity to create thousands of new green jobs, get ourselves off the oil hook and tackle climate change all at once. At a time when the future of our national energy system is being reconsidered, we would be foolish not to invest more in clean energy options. The Green Investment Gap calls on the government to put green investment at the heart of its economic recovery strategy, and recommends that it works with industry and the third sector to:
- Produce an annual Green Investment Audit,
- Commit to closing the green investment gap,
- Legislate for a strong Green Investment Bank.
The full report is available for download here: The Green Investment Gap – PIRC
Accompanying spreadsheet of data: The Green Investment Gap – PIRC – spreadsheet
Press Release (22/03/2011): Press Release – Green Investment Gap report 22nd March 2011
