First published on Wed 3 Mar 2021 11.54 EST
The chancellor has changed the remit of the Bank of England’s interest rate-setting monetary policy committee to include a duty to support the government’s net zero carbon ambition alongside its longstanding responsibility to keep inflation in check.
Rishi Sunak made the change to reflect the importance of environmental sustainability, he said.
Under the green upgrade, the Bank must support the government’s strategy to “level up opportunity in all parts of the UK” and to “transition to an environmentally sustainable and resilient net zero economy”, according to the Treasury.
The surprise extension of the remit formed part of an otherwise modest set of Treasury measures to help spur the UK’s burgeoning green economy including plans to issue a £15bn Green Gilt sovereign bond, a £22bn National Infrastructure Bank based in Leeds, and a string of small-scale development funding pledges.
Budget 2021: industry reacts building.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from building.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Budget 2021: Businesses and charities make last-minute calls for green funding to Rishi Sunak
With the 2021 Budget being announced on Wednesday (3 March), Chancellor Rishi Sunak is facing mounting pressure over the Green Homes Grant, National Nature Service and other green policy decisions.
Sunak will be hosting a press conference after the Budget speech on Wednesday. Image: HM Treasury
Since Sunak delivered his first Budget last March, he has been working to deliver the Treasury’s response to the UK’s recovery from the biggest recession the world has seen since World War Two. Packages crafted to assist that process included the 2020 Summer Economic Update the Spending Review.
Government urged to target 40GW solar capacity by 2030 businessgreen.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from businessgreen.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Friday, 26 February 2021 Leading organisations working on climate, community energy, green buildings and green finance have published a joint statement setting out key priorities to Government on solar, which can deliver benefits for both the environment and net zero as well as helping the UK to a green economic recovery from Covid-19. Courtesy of Ian Calderwood.
E3G, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, CPRE, the UK Green Building Council (GBC), WWF, Possible, Green Finance Institute and Community Energy England have signed a joint letter recommending the following priority policies to support the deployment of solar energy and storage in the UK, and deliver on the Government’s ambitions for net zero and a green recovery: