Response to publication of Industrial Strategy White Paper

Responding to publication of the Government’s Industrial Strategy (27 November 2017) Professor Sam Fankhauser, Director of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a former member of the UK Committee on Climate Change, said:

“It is reassuring that the Government has recognised that clean growth and transition to the low-carbon economy should be central to the UK’s Industrial Strategy. The Green Paper in January was surprisingly negative about the transition to the low-carbon economy, but the government has now recognised that it offers many opportunities for increases in growth and productivity in the UK. Consistent and strong policies will boost the confidence of private investors, crowding in finance to support clean growth in the UK.

“The Paris Agreement means that more than 190 countries have agreed to decarbonise their economies and make them more climate resilient. As countries have begun to implement their Paris pledges, the demand for low-carbon goods and services is increasing.  The UK has strong comparative advantages in many low-carbon sectors and is well placed, both before and after Brexit, to exploit these vast new export markets, for example, in low-emissions vehicles and batteries. The UK already has unrivalled strengths in services that support low-carbon economies – the City is the world’s hub of green finance.”

For more information about this media release please contact Victoria Druce on +44 (0) 20 7107 5865 or v.druce@lse.ac.uk or Bob Ward on +44 (0) 7811 320346 or r.e.ward@lse.ac.uk.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science response to the Government’s consultation on ‘Building our Industrial Strategy’ can be found here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/publication/consultation-response-building-our-industrial-strategy/

2. The ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (https://www.cccep.ac.uk/) is hosted by the University of Leeds and the London School of Economics and Political Science. It is funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (https://www.esrc.ac.uk/). The Centre’s mission is to advance public and private action on climate change through rigorous, innovative research.

3. The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (https://www.lse.ac.uk/grantham) was launched at the London School of Economics and Political Science in October 2008. It is funded by The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment (https://www.granthamfoundation.org/).

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