Green growth or profit is a ‘false choice’ says CBI.
New research by Confederation of British Industry shows that the UK has the ability to become a global front-runner in low carbon products and services, which could be adding £20 billion extra in annual GDP by 2015. But the CBI warns that the Government needs to take the right action to grasp this potential and avoid damaging the competitiveness of key industries.
Launching a new CBI report, The Colour of Growth: Maximising the Potential of Green Business, John Cridland, the CBI Director-General, said: “The so-called “choice” between going green or going for growth is a false one. We are increasingly hearing that politicians are for one or the other, when in reality, with the right policies in place, green business will be a major pillar of our future growth.
“With something like a third of all our growth accounted for by green business last year, the UK could be a global front-runner in the shift to low-carbon. In the search for growth, we’re digging for goldmines – and one of them is green.
“Get our energy and climate change policies right, and we can add £20bn extra to our economy and knock £0.8bn off the trade gap, all within the lifetime of this Parliament.”
The value of green growth
According to the report, the UK grew its share of the £3.3 trillion global green market by 2.3% in real terms in 2010/11, reaching £122 billion and accounting for around 8% of GDP, and CBI analysis suggests that green business may have accounted for over a third of all UK growth in 2011/12.
Across every sector and region, green business activity now employs around 940,000 people in the UK, with two thirds of these jobs located outside London and the South East.
Green goods and services are also a strong contributor to UK trade, and the biggest links are to fast-growing economies like China, which buys 7% of UK green exports. By the end of this Parliament the contribution from green business could potentially cut the UK’s trade deficit by half.
Investing in a balanced mix of low-carbon energy sources should also help to ensure the UK’s long-term energy security and affordability by reducing exposure to global energy price rises and fluctuations.
Read the CBI’s announcement here.
