‘Greenest Budget desperately needed but not delivered’


‘There’s nothing green about the jobs created by a new coal mine in Cumbria’ (pic West Cumbria Mining)

Today’s Budget (Wednesday, March 3) represents a missed opportunity to help tackle the climate emergency, according to CPRE, the countryside charity.
Responding to the 2021 Budget Statement, Crispin Truman, chief executive of CPRE, the countryside charity, said: “The Chancellor’s Budget simply doesn’t add up – the government can’t claim to have a ‘real commitment to green growth’ while using funding models that systematically disadvantage rural communities and worsen the climate emergency” said Mr Truman.
“By levelling up between urban and rural investment, not just north and south, we could regenerate many rural towns and villages that have been long forgotten.
“It’s just not right that government spending per person on public infrastructure is 44 per cent higher for urban areas than it is for rural areas with no major cities. We risk levelling up northern cities to the level of London and leaving rural areas stuck in disadvantage and decline.
“Today, the Chancellor has also missed a golden opportunity to prove that the government really means business when it talks about the UK being a genuine world leader in tackling the climate emergency.
“What we need is for the government to help create green and sustainable jobs up and down the country that help real people, while also making the UK economy greener.
“The Chancellor mentioned ‘green growth’, ‘green industries’ and ‘green projects’ nine times, but there’s nothing green about the jobs created by a new coal mine in Cumbria.
“He should be stimulating jobs in areas like Cumbria with renewable energy and energy efficiency, rather than through a coal mine that will be disastrous for carbon emissions and disastrous for our international reputation on climate in equal measure.
“All in all, a disappointing Budget for climate, communities and the countryside.”

 

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