Osborne calls for green Budget

16 April 2009 01:55pm

Shadow chancellor George Osborne has called for a "green revolution" ahead of the Budget.

He highlighted Tory plans to give cash grants for insulation in homes, pilot carbon storage and capture schemes for power stations and new tariffs to allow families to sell any electricity they generate by wind or solar power back to the national grid.

And he called for Chancellor Alistair Darling to encourage billions of pounds in private investment in environmentally friendly technology.

Mr Osborne, in a speech in London, said: "What about starting this green revolution right now, in next week's Budget? That is precisely what we are proposing today."

He added: "By implementing the policies we set out, the Chancellor can unleash £30 billion of private sector investment in a green technology revolution that will create jobs and opportunities across Britain.

"Instead of racking up yet more debt, these policies would boost the economy by incentivising companies and individuals to build the future."

He went on: "We would give every household a new entitlement to £6,500 of energy-saving technologies.

"We would provide government guarantees to enable companies to borrow the money to install this energy-saving equipment in homes across the country. This money would be repaid through savings on energy bills resulting from the improved energy efficiency.

"So homeowners would be given the opportunity to have energy-saving equipment fitted to their homes without any upfront costs.

"Assuming just one in two homes take up the offer, this would catalyse at least £20 billion of new private sector investment, and create new jobs in every region."

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