The Renewable Energy Association (REA) has described the £3bn in funding Chancellor Rishi Sunak has pledged towards a green recovery in the UK as “woefully inadequate”.
REA chief executive Nina Skorupska said: “Today’s announcement from Government lays the foundations for a successful green recovery by prioritising energy efficiency, funding social housing retrofits and emphasising the need for green jobs, but the financial aid is woefully inadequate.
“If this is a one-off investment of £3bn (€3.2bn) then it falls short; it is not enough to stimulate the economy on the scale needed or make a dent in our net zero by 2050 targets.”
She added: “We hope that the Chancellor will be building on this announcement tomorrow in his economic update and this is just the first in a series of funding rounds for the green housing and employment sectors.”
The Treasury will announce the package of measures on 8 July, with around £1bn earmarked for a programme to make public buildings, including schools and hospitals, greener.
Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) has carried out research showing that 1.6 million green and clean jobs can be created with the “right level” of investment.
Luke Murphy, head of the IPPR environmental justice commission, said: “This announcement of investment in green jobs is a welcome first step to securing the clean economic recovery we need from Covid-19.
“The level of investment falls far short of the £30bn public investment gap that needs to be filled to get the UK on track to meet net zero and it is also considerably less than the £9.2bn promised for energy efficiency in the Conservatives’ election manifesto.
“Investing for a clean recovery could create over 1.6 million good jobs, be good for the environment and would be popular with the public. This Wednesday the government must move beyond the Roosveltian rhetoric and deliver the recession beating investment that the economy needs.”