Government warned about cutting back on green technology
The Committee on Climate Change has today warned the UK government against reducing the £550 million year green technology budget or else risk missing out on the opportunity to create significant job numbers in the UK. This is a very difficult situation for the UK government, which is looking to introduce massive budget cuts, and it is highly unlikely that the green technology budget will escape a reduction, at least in the short term. Would this be the correct move by the UK government?
While there is no doubt that investment in green technology is essential for the long-term prospects of the UK, not to mention the fact that we need to reduce our dependence upon oil and other fossil fuels, the short-term situation may be very different. Despite the fact that a budget of £550 million a year is currently in place for this area of new technology, we've also seen a marked increase in "green taxes" which has annoyed many of the UK population. Whether a reduction in the budget would see an increase in "green taxes" remains to be seen but this would be a very high risk strategy by the UK government.
It is very difficult to argue that any area of the public budget should be "ring fenced", aside from the likes of the NHS, education and the police, but the Committee on Climate Change is adamant a reduction in the annual budget for "green technology" would be a step too far.
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