West of England turns to private sector to spend millions on tackling climate change
The West of England is turning to private sector investors to spend millions of pounds on tackling climate change. The region is unlikely to hit its goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2030, and faces a shortfall in funding for climate projects.
A new investment fund will be set up by the West of England Combined Authority, with an estimated total of £100 million planned over the next 12 years. The cash will be used partly to support small and medium-sized businesses in the region to scale up their work.
The combined authority will invest £10 million, and hopes to get £90 million of private sector investment. The West of England committee signed off the spending on Friday, September 20, and the money will be used to create thousands of new jobs in net zero industries.
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Dan Norris, the Labour mayor of the West of England, said: “There is a climate emergency. Whatever Mr Rees-Mogg might have said or Donald Trump says, that’s the reality. The evidence has been overwhelming for years. Tackling the climate and biodiversity crises are vital, but we’re a long way from meeting targets.
“The fund is a big vote of confidence in the potential of our amazing region to be a leader in renewable energy and green technology. The West of England is leading the way and I’m proud of that. My message to investors is to come and be part of the green revolution that this region is utterly committed to.
“We’re a progressive area when it comes to the environment, it’s something that’s reflected through the ballot box. We want the investment from wherever it comes, whether that's the government, the private sector or anywhere else for that matter.”
The idea for the Green Growth West Impact Fund came from investors at Bristol and Bath Regional Capital. The firm estimates the fund could create 9,000 new jobs and save 230,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
Despite being a significant sum of money, the £100 million raised by the fund will not nearly meet the billions needed to reach net zero in the West of England. One obstacle is the region’s over-reliance on cars, vans and lorries, most of which emit climate-warming greenhouse gases.
Labour Councillor Ian Boulton, co-leader of South Gloucestershire Council, added: “The scale of investment that’s required to meet our climate and nature emergencies is estimated to be more than £24 billion. We really need to move on a funding model that works for us, that obviously can’t be delivered by the combined authority or the wider public sector on its own.”