EIC Report Recommends 'Mini Green Stimulus'

The Environmental Industries Commission (EIC) has urged the government to include a self-funded ‘mini green stimulus’ in its pre-budget report to boost the UK’s environmental strategy.

The recommendations are part of a new lobbying campaign launched by the group to stimulate the growth of green jobs and help Britain make the most of what the EIC estimates to be a $3tn (£1.8tn) global market place for environmental products and services.

The group suggests that the mini green stimulus should be financed by efficiency savings made across government, with allocation of the remainder of the £405m announced in the 2009 Budget to support the development of an advanced green manufacturing sector in the UK.

EIC’s policy director, Danny Stevens, said: ‘We believe that a mini green stimulus, financed by efficiency savings, better application of the “polluter pays principle” and targeted allocation of existing public sector funds, is essential for driving the transition to a global low-carbon, resource-efficient economy - with UK businesses and jobs at its heart.’