The case for green investing
To date, the UK has been largely dependent on fossil fuels and sending waste to landfill but this is changing as it seeks to catch up with its European counterparts who have been setting the pace for renewable energy and recycling.
In and out of recession, 2009 forecasts show that our environmental economy is expected to continue to grow, creating 1.2 million jobs in a global industry worth an estimated £3 trillion.
Having set low carbon targets, the UK is intent on closing the gap on other countries and looking after and harnessing natural resources. We have recognised, as a nation, that there must be more sustainable, greener ways of going about our daily lives.
In 2009, in its White Paper: The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, the UK government announced a commitment to using 40 per cent of electricity from low-carbon sources by 2020. This will result in 30 per cent of our electricity being generated from renewable sources. It has also unveiled multi-million-pound packages to stimulate offshore wind energy, community heating schemes, improving energy efficiency and the development of anaerobic digestion technology.
Meanwhile, Combined Heat and Power (CHP) projects will be exempt from the Climate Change Levy from 2013. This recognises the ability of CHP to produce energy with significantly lower carbon emissions. It is expected that this will bring forward up to £2.5 billion of future investments in this technology, reducing UK carbon emissions by 3.2 million tonnes of CO2 .
We've seen a raft of announcements and initiatives in recent years which strengthen the belief that the environmental agenda is gaining momentum.
This presents opportunities for the investor.