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17 Dec 2009

Skills gap delays low-carbon plan

A report published by the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee claims that low-carbon industries face a skills gap that could delay the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy.

MPs on the committee say that if the right investments are made now, the UK could create thousands of green jobs and become a world leader in the £3tn global market for green technologies.

Tim Yeo MP, chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, said: ‘The government has missed a big opportunity to kick start a green-industrial revolution with its £3bn fiscal stimulus. Germany, the US, Japan and China have invested billions in their low-carbon industries, but only one sixth of the UK government’s fiscal-stimulus package was devoted to green industry.’

He added: ‘At the same time as cutting carbon emissions we could be boosting employment and putting UK firms at the forefront of the huge global market for green technologies.’

The government’s Low Carbon Transition Plan sets out how it aims to decarbonise the economy but it does not, according to the committee, provide industry with a clear enough sense of what needs to happen to jobs and skills.

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