Last week, the Chancellor has announced £3bn green investment package, part of the Treasury’s post-Covid ‘Plan for Jobs’.

According to Rishi Sunak, the package will be used to decarbonise public buildings and cut emissions from Britain’s poorly insulated homes as part of the government’s Covid-19 economic recovery plan. There is £3bn for green investment, to be spent in 2020-21, including

• £2 billion in “green homes grants” up to £5,000 – for home-owners to insulate their property. Poorest households can claim up to £10,000, covering the full cost of upgrades.
• £1 billion to make public buildings (e.g. schools and hospitals) greener.
• £50 million to making social housing more eco-friendly. This is expected to cover 650,000 homes.
• Expected to employ 100,000 tradespeople, from September.

Reaction in the Guardian.

Opposition parties and environmental groups said, however, that the green investment pledge was inadequate to meet the challenge posed by global heating.

This is precisely the right time for a massive green stimulus to provide jobs and tackle the other great crisis of our time, the climate emergency.
The Government’s green spending simply does not match the scale of ambition necessary to reshape our economy and save the planet.
The UK’s green investment is being outpaced by the likes of France (£13 billion over two years), Germany (a £36 billion multi-year plan).

Read more.

There is nothing for electric vehicles or renewable energy, and little on nature either. Campaigners are looking to take legal action, saying that the plans are not in line with the Paris agreement.