Ed Matthew
Where will the funds for a green recovery come from? In a startling report last week, Ernst & Young revealed that the UK is facing an energy finance crunch. We need £450 billion to finance new energy supply infrastructure and energy efficiency measures by 2025. But traditional sources of capital are only likely to deliver £50-80 billion. We fear that tomorrow’s spending review will leave us stranded without the funding needed for green growth.
Ernst & Young identified an energy finance gap of £370 to £400 billion. That means up to 10 times more investment is required than will be supplied by business as usual. They concluded that a Green Investment Bank was essential to help bridge that gap by sharing the risk of investment with the private sector and leveraging in high levels of private capital.
Yet we hear today that Treasury officials are pushing for a £2 billion “fund” to be created instead of a £4-6 billion green banking institution.
