UK must increase green investments

The UK is at risk of food, water and energy insecurity, if action to invest in a low carbon economy is not increased, the UK government’s energy and climate change committee has been warned.

The UK’s position as a influential nation in the fight against climate change is at risk, as investment in energy efficiency and cleaner energy sources is falling, John Ashton, who has just stepped down from the Foreign Office, told UK MPs.

“Failure to deal with climate change would amplify already dangerous stresses arising from food, water and energy insecurity,” Ashton told the energy and climate change select committee.

“This potentially unmanageable combination of stresses poses a systemic risk to the security and prosperity of [the] country.”

Over the last two years, lack of economic growth and increasing austerity measures has weakened support for costly environmental policies.

Ashton said that he sympathised with concerns that efforts to increase funding for sustainable energy would be an expensive failure if other countries did not also invest in similar ways. However, Ashton claimed the UK was currently being overtaken by countries such as Germany, Korea, China and Japan in investment in sustainable energy.

“Internationally we must resolve the false choice, exacerbated by the current crisis, between economic security and climate security. A rapid shift to low carbon growth is essential for security, competitiveness and prosperity, not an intolerable risk to competitiveness, jobs and growth,” Ashton said.

“Politically we must address this not as a distraction from our current problems, but as part of the solution to them.”

 

Image: Wind turbines | flickr cariliv