Archived press release

Account for the Future: Public Urged to Move Savings

21 June 1996

The public can take easy action to help fight climate change just by moving their savings, Friends of the Earth said today. The environmental group urged savers to transfer their savings to the Earth Saver account,a unique new savings account designed to promote climate saving green energy launched today by Triodos Bank[1] and Friends of the Earth.

The launch of the Earth Saver Account [2] marks the start of a partnership between Friends of the Earth and the UK's only environmental bank,aiming to boost the development of sustainable energy projects in the UK. The bank anticipates raising 10 million to provide loans for renewable energy and energy conservation projects[3]. Friends of the Earth have kick started the Earth Saving account with a deposit of 200,000.

Dr Patrick Green, Friends of the Earth's Senior Energy, Nuclear and Climate Campaigner said,

"The Earth Saver Account offers the public a positive, practical way to take action to fight climate change and promote green energy. By simply transferring their savings, individuals obtain a stake in developing a more sustainable future."

The Earth Saver Account is launched as world Government's prepare to meet to discuss the global threat of climate change[4]. In Friends of the Earth's view an aggressive emphasis on energy efficiency and the development of renewable energy technologies are the solutions to global warming. This will offer significant economic benefits to the economy through the creation of new environmentally sustainable jobs and industries[5].

Glen Saunders, Triodos Bank's Managing Director said:

"The Earth Saver account will enable us to lend directly to more green energy projects. It demonstrates our core policy of transparency: savers know where their money is being used, and can mobilise their savings for issues they support."

ENDS Notes to Editors

[1] Triodos Bank is a social bank lending exclusively to projects with social and environmental objectives. It is an independent bank owned by public shareholders. Shares are held through a trust which protects its social and environmental aims. The UK office of Triodos Bank is based in Bristol. The Bank also has offices in Zeist, in the Netherlands, where it was founded in 1980 and in Gent and Namur in Belgium. For more information on the bank contact Susan Jenkins on 0117 973 9339.

[2] Funds raised in the Earth Saver Account will be used to finance renewable energy and energy conservation projects in the UK. Savers will be offered competitive rates of interest of up to 5.5% gross pa. For every Earth Saver account opened with 2,000 or more, Triodos will make a donation to the saver's choice of NEA, the national energy efficiency charity, or to Friends of the Earth Ltd. Account holders can also choose to donate their interest to Friends of the Earth Trust to help fund its research into sustainable energy. To find out more about the account, savers can call free on 0500 008 720.

[3] The sustainable energy projects financed will satisfy the guidelines developed by Friends of the Earth's Energy, Nuclear and Climate Campaign. Triodos Bank's usual social, environmental and financial assessments will be carried out in every case.

[4] On 5 June, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published its Second Assessment Report and warned that the threat of climate change must now be taken seriously as the balance of evidence suggested a discernible human influence on climate. The IPCC report concluded that significant net reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are technically possible and are environmentally feasible through "aggressive efficiency measures and through appropriate technology development."

[5] The November 1995 Friends of the Earth report, "Working Future? Jobs and the Environment" demonstrated that the opportunities for employment creation through feasible and economical sustainable energy generation and use in the UK are substantial. The report suggested that up to 81,000 additional direct and indirect jobs could be created by energy efficiency investments which would also improve the housing conditions of the fuel poor. Up to 10,300 additional job in utilising on-shore wind resources and 1,000 additional jobs in utilising solar energy could also be created by 2005.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust