Treasury takes important first steps toward a resilient recovery, must be followed up by policy commitments in Budget

Reacting to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Summer Economic Update today, Signe Norberg, Public Affairs Manager of the Aldersgate Group, said: “The Government faces a significant challenge to the get the economy and employment going again, and in the words of the Chancellor, the UK must have “a green recovery with concern for the environment at its heart”. The UK has a huge opportunity to put the economy on track for a resilient and long-term recovery by aligning it with the UK’s climate and environmental goals [1]. The £3bn investment package focused on energy efficiency spending in 2020/2021 can support rapid and regionally spread out job creation, as well as deliver important social and environmental benefits by having better homes and driving cost-effective emission cuts. These benefits could be significantly amplified if similar support continues to be provided in the years ahead.”

Signe Norberg added: “Building on today’s positive first steps, long-term policy commitments now need to be made by the time of the Spending Review and the Autumn Budget in order to genuinely deliver long-term and transformative change. This needs to include fiscal incentives, clear regulatory standards to mandate high levels of energy efficiency performance in buildings, a phase out of petrol and diesel vehicle sales around 2030, a UK Emissions Trading Scheme with a carbon price in line with the UK’s net zero target and product standards to drive down the embedded carbon in industrial goods. [2]”