12 Oct 2010 12:10:07
TUC: Govt cuts could hamper green economy
The opportunity to create thousands of green jobs could be missed if the government cuts investment in the low carbon economy, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has claimed.
In a letter to Chancellor George Osborne, the TUC, Friends of the Earth and the Aldersgate Group warned that the market cannot be relied on to "drive the move to a low carbon economy".
A reduction in government investment would also be a "huge blow" to the development of carbon capture and storage technologies, the document added.
Speaking at the TUC Alliances for Green Growth Conference, deputy general secretary Frances O'Grady said that green investment is "essential" to ensure the economic recovery of the UK.
"Cutting green funding in the spending review would not just risk economic recovery, it would also mean many lost opportunities to create green jobs, develop technologies that could reduce our carbon emissions, and save businesses and taxpayers billions of pounds," she said.
Ms Grady also reiterated the needed for the Green Investment Bank to provide capital for green initiatives.
Mr Osborne will be announcing the comprehensive spending review, which lays out the government's spending plans for the next four years, on Wednesday October 20th.
