Green investment bank 'must operate commercially'

Article by Fiona Harvey

The government is putting the UK's fledgling green economy at risk by downgrading the "green investment bank" to a mere fund, MPs have warned in a scathing report on the plans...

...In another blow to government plans, an influential investment company warned that the "carbon floor price" the government is proposing would fail to generate new investment for green projects. "The policy is unlikely to command investor confidence. It needs to gain credibility if the government wants to attract new low-carbon investment into the UK," found Climate Change Capital, in a report published on Friday morning.

As currently planned, the floor price - which would ensure that businesses always had to pay a minimum amount for their greenhouse gas emissions, whatever the conditions in the marketplace - would be subject to the whims of MPs, because every year parliament would have to vote for an increase in the price. The authors of the report said this was "highly unlikely" and would not give investors the certainty they need. Instead, they said the Treasury should issue firm guarantees of the future floor price.

Read the full article on the Guardian website here.

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Green investment bank 'must operate commercially'