UK s post-pandemic green jobs investment lagging far behind G7 peers, TUC warns
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Credit: Greenpeace UK
TUC claims levels of spending per capita on green jobs in the UK is just a fraction of funding allocated by most other G7 nations
The UK s investment in a green recovery from the pandemic lags far behind that of other major economies, which risks squandering a golden opportunity to accelerate the net zero transition and create hundreds of thousands of green jobs, the nation s leading federation of trade unions has warned.
The UK has allocated £12.13bn towards green recovery projects in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, and the government has repeatedly touted its desire to build back better from the pandemic, as well as setting out plans to boost renewable energy, hydrogen and
Residents warned of scammers pretending to be Eden council
Cold caller
Eden council has warned residents to be aware of scammers pretending to work with the authority to offer energy efficiency help.
Cold callers have targeted residents looking to take advantage of interest in recent Government grant funding around green homes.
The scam calls are said to relate to the council offering energy efficiency measures and home insulation and Government help.
An authority spokesman said: “The council is conscious that energy efficiency measures and home insulation are very high profile at the moment, with significant Government grants being awarded.
“We have been made aware of some residents receiving cold calls from companies claiming to offer home energy assessments and claiming that they’re working in partnership with Eden Council.
Green Homes Grant: Less than 10% of promised vouchers issued
Less than £200m of the £2bn of vouchers initially promised under the UK s Green Homes Grant Scheme has been issued, new official Government figures show.
The scheme had targeted 600,000 homes, but just 53,000 homes made successful applications before its closure
The Green Homes Grant was launched last summer as part of the Government’s broader green recovery approach. It originally had a £2bn budget and was set to help 600,000 UK homes with the cost of retrofitting schemes to improve energy efficiency.
But, after claiming that the UK’s retrofitting services sector did not have enough tradespeople qualified to conduct accredited works, and receiving many applications from homes that did not meet the accreditation criteria, the Government pulled £1.5bn of the funding earlier this year. The move proved almost universally unpopular.
Why was the Green Homes Grant scheme scrapped so quickly?
Andrew Warren
It is vital the government come up with a series of new initiatives to ensure Boris Johnson s proud green boasts to the UN really do become a reality in our housing stock
It is just nine months since the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced he was launching a new Green Homes grant scheme, allocating an initial £1.5bn over the opening six-month period from October 2020. In.
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