Carbon reduction funding 'not enough' - 30/03/09

A new report has revealed that the Government's multibillion-pound plan for stimulating the UK economy included just £120 million of new funding for carbon reduction measures.

The proportion of additional spending on the green economy was just 0.6% of the total package, according to research for environmental campaign group Greenpeace.

The New Economics Foundation study said this went against recent claims by the Prime Minister that around 10% of the economic stimulus package would be directed towards "environmentally important technologies".

"The UK is missing an opportunity to boost its economy, build its energy security and tackle climate change," the report said. "The environmental content of the UK's overall economic stimulus package is poor, compared to many other countries."

However, the Government has challenged the foundation's figures, with a spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change saying: "The green proportion of economic stimulus in the UK is more than 10 times what is claimed in this report."

"Since the downturn started to bite we've come forward with a billion pound energy efficiency package.

"Over the current three-year period, government policies are driving £50 billion worth of investment into the shift to low carbon."

Carbon reduction funding 'not enough' - 30/03/09

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