The UK will not attract sufficient private investment to create the low-carbon infrastructure that is needed to meet EU carbon emission reductions according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
The CBI has previously stated that Britain needed £150billion of private investment over the next 20 years to adhere to targets but yesterday they warned that green investments were leaving the country.
“It is small wonder that Britain is falling behind green investment targets when Government is demonstrating no interest in supporting green industry,” said Ray Noble of the Renewable Energy Association.
Mr Noble was referring to the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s decision to review feed-in-tariffs (FiTs) for the solar generation developments above 50kW.
“This review is an absolute disaster … no new projects will start if this proposal becomes law. This industry has been strangled at birth. The huge number of new jobs, both created and planned, will disappear. Why should green investors choose to put their money into Britain when Government keeps changing its policy?” he said.
The CBI report, entitled ‘Risky Business: Investing in the UK’s Low-Carbon Infrastructure’ warns that senior businessmen do not believe that Britain will attract the financial support required to keep pace with European competitors.
“The Government’s response to the lack of investment is critical,” said Ken Moss, CEO of mO3 Power.
“We need to create new renewable energy industries and private investment is integral in making that happen. Inevitably, the Government will have to provide incentives for that money to be invested in Britain otherwise it will leach away abroad. mO3 had plans to invest millions of pounds in solar developments that would have played a vital part in Britain’s renewable diversity and create at least 20,000 new jobs. The FiT review has put all that on hold,” said Mr Moss.
Chief policy director for the CBI, Katja Hall said: “We know the UK needs a balanced energy mix to cut emissions and grow the low-carbon economy, but the big question now is how we pay for it.”