28 Jun 2010 01:06:10

Green Investment Bank 'must be created within year'

For the government's Green Investment Bank to work three key details should be considered, according to Friends of the Earth.

The environmental charity identified that there was large potential for growth within the green economy and green technology sector, providing that the government continues to provide support.

Simon Bullock, economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth, welcomed the creation of the bank but said "it all comes down now to detail".

According to Mr Bullock, for the bank to be a success it must be set up as an independent enterprise within one year, possess enough capital to gain millions of pounds of private sector investment and have a strict focus on renewables and energy efficiency.

"If the government were to do those three things...I think that would send an extremely strong signal to business that this new government is very serious about the low carbon economy," he added.

The creation of a Green Investment Bank was one of the policies announced in George Osborne's emergency Budget last week.

While Mr Bullock welcomed the creation of the investment bank, overall he said that the chancellor had "failed to take the bold decisions we so urgently need".