Supporting low-carbon growth
Climate change is the greatest long-term economic and environmental challenge facing the world today. Taking action to tackle the causes of climate change will generate new business opportunities and jobs, helping to promote sustainable economic growth.
Budget 2010 announces:
- Creation of a Green Investment Bank that will support private investment in low-carbon infrastructure projects, bringing together public and private sector capital and operating on a commercial basis;
- Launching UK Finance for Growth to streamline £4 billion of existing financial support for small and medium-sized businesses, which will include support to businesses to commercialise low-carbon technologies;
- £60 million for the development of UK port sites to support offshore wind turbine manufacturers looking to locate new facilities in the UK;
- Halving the rate of company car tax for ultra-low carbon cars;
- A commitment to reduce Government departments’ carbon emissions by at least 30 per cent by 2020; and
- Commitment to reform the energy market to provide clean, secure and affordable energy in the long-term, with a White Paper by Spring 2011.
The Government has said that it must live within its means, and plans to halve the level of public borrowing as a share of the economy over four years. The Budget announces:
- The fuel duty increase for 2010 will be staged, with an increase of one penny per litre on 1 April 2010 and one penny per litre on 1 October 2010, then 0.76 pence per litre on 1 January 2011. Fuel duty will also rise by one penny per litre in real terms on 1 April each year from 2011 to 2014; and
- An £8 per tonne increase in the standard rate of landfill tax on 1 April 2014, to encourage alternatives to landfill.
Back to top
