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industry & government news

UK GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES

£500M IN GREEN INVESTMENTS

THE GOVERNMENT HAS ANNOUNCED said: “We are driving ahead with plans
NEW SPENDING IN GREEN TECHNOLOGY
to make travel greener while backing
British innovation and technology.
“I am delighted to announce this
funding that will more than double
the number of rapid charge points for
electric vehicles on our roads. Britain
already boasts one of the biggest
networks of charging infrastructure
in Europe and soon we will have the
fastest thanks to this investment.”
Alongside the £400 million EV fund,
the Department for Business, Energy
and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has
unveiled £142.9 million in investment
for other green projects as part of the
government’s Strategic Priority Fund.
£31.5 million will be spent on
developing technologies to remove
greenhouse gases from the sky,
while £22 million will look at ways to
minimise the effects of air pollutants
THE UK GOVERNMENT has announced go towards creating 3,000 new rapid like air fresheners and cleaning
it will invest more than £500 million charge points, which will more than products on public health.
in green technologies, according to double the number of charge points BEIS figures released earlier this
Environment Journal. across the UK to 5,000 by 2024. year revealed that the UK has cut its
The headline announcement made Funding announcements for R&D emissions by 44 per cent since 1990,
by the government is a new £400 projects include £31.5 million for mostly by phasing fossil fuels out of
million Treasury fund to improve research into technologies to remove the country’s energy mix.
Britain’s electric vehicle (EV) charging greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, However, experts say that the UK
infrastructure. and £22 million to minimise the effects must now decarbonise other areas of its
The first £70 million of the Charging of new kinds of air pollution. economy such as transport and business
Infrastructure Investment Fund will Exchequer Secretary Simon Clarke in order to hit its 2050 net zero target.

OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY ARGUES FOR MAXIMUM PRODUCTION LEVELS

the party’s energy spokesman, said
the industry was “putting its own
interests ahead of our survival”.
“The science cannot be any clearer
on this,” he said. “Fossil fuels must be
left in the ground.”
Despite efforts to reduce
consumption of oil and gas, the
SOME SAY THE UK OIL AND GAS industry report predicted UK
INDUSTRY IS BEING UNREALISTIC
demand in 2035 – as outlined by
THE UK’S OIL and gas industry has It said maintaining output at 1.1 the Committee on Climate Change –
said the best response to tackling million barrels per day would reduce would still be significantly more than
greenhouse gas emissions is to the need to import fossil fuels. the UK could produce.
continue production at maximum However, environmental Even after a rapid drop in demand
levels, according to the BBC. campaigners WWF Scotland said the in the years to 2050, forecast to be half
Oil and Gas UK’s Roadmap to 2035 industry needed to “get serious” about the current consumption level, the UK
argues that consumption would remain tackling climate change. would still only be able to produce 30
above the levels they could produce. Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell, per cent of the total, the report said.

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News.indd 2 17/10/2019 13:46