Climate campaigners slam Jeremy Hunt’s green tech plans as ‘re-heated’ and ‘lacking ambition’

Climate campaigners have slammed the Chancellor’s green technology plan as “re-heated”, “confusing”, and “lacking ambition”.

Greenpeace UK’s head of climate Mel Evans said Jeremy Hunt’s plans announced today (Thursday 30 March) are “yet another government failure on climate action” with the UK “not even making it to the starting blocks of the green tech race”.

Elsewhere Tom Fyans, interim CEO of CPRE (the countryside charity), said the energy security announcements offer “hope and frustration in equal measure” with it “heartening to see the government commit fully to renewable energy” but there is still a “lack of urgency and ambition”.

The reaction comes after Hunt announced £20 billion investment in carbon capture technology, as well as £160 million for port infrastructure to help expand offshore wind.

New green hydrogen production projects also feature alongside plans to launch Great British Nuclear, to “put clean nuclear power at the heart of Britain’s energy security".

The government is also putting £5,000 grants towards heat pump insulation, which will be extended to 2028.

More than £380 million will go towards improving the number of electric vehicle charge points and the Great British Insulation Scheme will aim to upgrade 300,000 homes with grants.

‘The wrong priorities’

Campaigners and critics have warned against some of the government’s new plans.

Green MP Caroline Lucas told NationalWorld “the greenest thing about this plan is the recycling of already announced ideas” as George Osborne first announced a competition for Small Modular Reactors in 2015.

She added: “Carbon capture funding was announced in the Chancellor’s Budget earlier this month. These aren’t just rehashed policies, but the wrong priorities.”

Greenpeace UK said carbon capture “is not zero carbon” and “is unlikely to see dramatic cost reductions or be scalable”.

The environmental organisation added: “It is often used for greenwashing by oil and gas companies so they can carry on polluting. It doesn’t do what it says on the tin and certainly should not be prioritised as part of a green industrial strategy.”

Energy secretary Grant Shapps admitted that “we’re not there yet” on carbon capture technology on GB News, but said “we probably have the ability to store billions if not trillions of pounds worth of other people’s carbon in those locations.”

When challenged over his use of the word “probably”, Shapps replied: “We know that you can actually do this. It’s technically possible to do. Yes, there are lots of practical implications of doing it.”

‘A bit half-hearted’

Commenting on the government’s proposed onshore wind investment, Mr Fyans said the government needs to “vocally support onshore wind so long as landscape sensitivity is taken into account and proposals have the backing of the local community.”

GreenPeace said the onshore wind investment is “welcome” but it “seems a bit half-hearted compared to the £4 billion an expert group assessed as necessary for that task.”

The group added: “There is an ongoing failure to permit onshore wind in England that remains blocked by planning rules, and promises to streamline planning for offshore wind and solar were made in the British Energy Security Strategy nearly a year ago and have seen little change.”

Green MP Lucas criticised the government for not going far enough in today’s announcement to “meet the scale of the climate emergency we face.”

She said: “We needed a bold and visionary package – yet the government barely moves an inch.

“There was no announcement to lift the de facto ban on onshore wind; to mandate solar panels on all suitable new homes; or to provide a real street-by-street, local authority-led mass home insulation programme – merely an addendum to an already existing scheme.”