UK: 'Green revolution' could create 400,000 jobs, claim ministers

A “green revolution” that should create 400,000 jobs is to be launched by ministers later this month in the most ambitious ever bid to transform the British economy, industry and sources of energy.

Detailed plans for expanding renewable energy tenfold and cutting emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses that heat up the planet – all in little more than a decade – will be announced.

The plans will be spelt out in three documents due to be published in about ten days time.
Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, will unveil a White Paper that will spell out how emissions will be cut by at least 34 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020 and a ‘Renewable Energy Strategy’ to increase its use to 15 per cent of Britain’s total energy supplies by the same date.

Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, will launch a ‘Low Carbon Industrial Strategy’ which the Government hopes will create 400,000 new jobs in environmental industries over eight years and “transform our whole economy and change our industrial landscape, our supply chain and the way in which we all work and consume”.

Publication of the plans will be followed by an Energy Bill, to be included in the next Queen’s speech, to promote technology to remove carbon dioxide from the emissions of coal fired power stations; new ones will effectively be banned unless they use it.

Telegraph