CBI says policy uncertainty stifles low-carbon investment

With emissions reductions targets to meet and a third of the country’s energy supply due to close in the next decade, the UK’s power sector alone needs £150bn of private sector investment over the next twenty years, the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) said.

In a new report entitled Risky Business: Investing in the UK’s low-carbon infrastructure, the CBI shows that senior business leaders are not convinced that the UK can attract low-carbon investment at the scale and pace required.

‘Businesses want to get on with building new low-carbon infrastructure, but there is still too much policy uncertainty,’ said Katja Hall, chief policy director for the CBI. ‘We need the government to set a clear direction of travel and to stick to it.

‘Electricity Market Reform is a positive start but more needs to be done to provide wider policy certainty for low-carbon investment. It is particularly important that the planning system delivers timely decisions and that there are no more sudden policy shifts as we saw with the Carbon Reduction Commitment.