Energy supplier, Ecotricity has published its vision for a ‘Green Britain’ in 2030 based off research by consultancy Cambridge Econometrics.
Ecotricity’s 2030 Vision for a Green Britain details the company’s hopes for ambitious carbon emission targets, renewable deployment and electric car adoption by 2030.
The company is calling for 80% of the country’s power generation to come from renewable resources by 2030, a move that the energy supplier believes will save £11.7 billion in fossil fuel costs. In addition, Ecotiricity is pushing for an end to all fossil fuel subsidies, suggesting that the government should curtail all support for fossil fuels by 2025.
Ecotricity also wants to see the government significantly raise its ambition for electric vehicle deployment. The energy supplier already operates a significant proportion of the UK’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure and wants all new cars to be electric by 2030. The company suggests that scrapping VAT for electric vehicles would help stimulate significant demand.
Ecotricity’s Green Britain vision would also generate a large economic benefit according to Cambridge Econometrics’ modelling. The document claims that mass adoption of electric vehicles would provide a £5 billion increase in GDP, knock nearly £8 billion off Britain’s annual oil import bill, and provide £1.25 billion in health and environmental benefits.
Commenting on the publication of his company’s Green Britain vision, Ecotricity founder, Dale Vince, said: “This is part manifesto, part vision piece that presents a vision of the kind of Britain we think we should be living in – and it shows how we can get there.
“The document is intended to spur people’s imagination. Some of it might seem a stretch, some of it is actually easier than we think – but all of it is possible. What matters is getting people thinking about the next government and the energy and environmental issues it needs to confront.
“The next government must think and act more ambitiously on these issues, and this manifesto gives a good roadmap on how to achieve that.”
Vince courted controversy by donating £250,000 to the Labour party ahead of this week’s General Election. At the time Vince said that the company was “putting our money where our hearts are – and that’s care of the environment”. However, a number of commentators questioned the business leader’s Green Party snub and open backing of pro-fracking Labour.
Responding to Ecotricity’s vision, Labour shadow energy and climate change secretary, Caroline Flint said: “The next Labour government will commit Britain to decarbonising our electricity supply by 2030 to give business like Ecotricity certainty to invest so we can create a million green jobs over the next decade and invest in green technology and green infrastructure to power Britain’s economy forward into the future.”
Ed Davey, secretary of state for energy and climate change, also expressed his support for Ecotricity’s vision, stating: “We should all support the idea of a Green Britain, and there’s no doubt that we need to set ambitious targets and implement innovative policies to achieve that. That’s what Ecotricity’s vision piece offers, and it’s certainly a document worth engaging with to draw out some of the key steps we might follow.”
Vince concluded that Britain’s imminent General Election represented a critical time for the energy industry, stating: “The politicians we put in power in 2015 will lead the UK through a vital time for its green future. When in 2030 we come to look back and assess our progress, will we be celebrating, or regretting, the decisions made by the next government? This election should be about our green future, and we’re not hearing enough about that.”
