Green Alliance says the cash is needed for clean transport, nature restoration, and low-carbon buildings. Over the past three years, it says that £9bn has been spent on projects that actually increase CO2, like roads. It comes as large UK firms make a promise to “kick-start a new approach” and “put the environment first”.
The Green Alliance think tank insists though that the funding issue must be solved in the prime minister’s economic recovery speech expected on Tuesday. Its calculations are based on the government’s own assessment of major projects in the pipeline released on 16 June. Chris Venables, head of politics at Green Alliance, said of Tuesday’s expected speech: “This is a once in a generation opportunity for the prime minister to create the foundations of a healthier, more resilient economy. “For ‘Project Speed’ (the prime minister’s infrastructure review) to be successful, it must be the most ambitious climate infrastructure project ever, creating jobs in every corner of the UK.
The report supports analysis by the the Trades Union Congress defining the best value for money from job-creating schemes. Road-building was judged poorly. The calculations judge projects based on jobs created per pound of public investment. Best value are said to be: retrofitting buildings and creating cycle lanes, which are given a score of 20. Electric ferries, battery factories and reforestation score 19; decarbonising industry, new electric UK buses, 18; and upgrading railways, installing electric vehicle chargers, and environmental restoration, 17. Broadband expansion scores 15, but road-building, by comparison, scores just 10.
Source: BBC
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