Budget 2013: it's the environment, stupid23 October 2012
A powerful committee of MPs are holding an inquiry into George Osborne's green-bashing and what he should put in his next Budget to help the green economy.
Friends of the Earth has written to the MPs in the Environmental Audit Committee calling for a complete change of tack from the anti-green Chancellor.
The UK's green sector is one of our quiet economic success stories - but it's despite the Chancellor, not because of him.
Did you know?
The Government says there are over one million employed in green businesses and industries in the UK.
The anti-green Chancellor
In the last seven months alone, George Osborne has announced five separate tax breaks for oil and gas companies.
The fossil fuel tax allowances he doled out in his Budget last March were greeted with delight by the industry.
And in his speech to Conservative party conference in October, he promised even more tax breaks - this time for shale gas.
This is a Chancellor on a mission - to create a new 'dash for gas' that'll keep us in hock to dirty, expensive fossil fuels for decades to come.
And he's often gone out of his way to pit a healthy environment and a healthy economy against each other.
A change of tack
We don't expect George Osborne to start loving renewable energy and green business overnight.
But we do expect him to start listening to some of the UK's most powerful business groups.
The CBI has said that the Government needs to get serious about its green policies to give forward-looking business the confidence to thrive. We agree.
With the economy in the doldrums, it's time for Osborne to deliver an economic recovery plan that is fit for the future and puts green business first.
Further reading
Submission to Environmental Audit Committee Inquiry: Budget 2013
Retoxified? How the Chancellor turned his back on going green
© iStock
