Recommendation 4

HM Government · verbatim extract Accepted

5. Levels of unemployment not seen in decades are now in prospect, on a scale which inevitably demands Government intervention. In its approach to the recovery, the Government should, as far as possible, front-load its investment in areas such energy efficiency, the circular economy, climate adaptation and nature recovery, so as to provide a green jobs boost to counter unemployment. This investment will provide economic multipliers in terms of jobs and improved productivity and will offer wider benefits such as cleaner air and warmer homes. Consideration should also be given to how investment in energy efficiency and nature recovery can be used to rebalance the UK by supporting communities most in need. Do this and we can also ensure that the UK is more resilient to future shocks. (Paragraph 49 of the EAC report) Throughout the pandemic, the Government has sought to protect people’s jobs and livelihoods while also supporting businesses and public services across the UK. The Chancellor announced further support at Budget to businesses on top of the Government’s previous economic responses. These economic support measures are carefully designed to complement each other to ensure jobs and livelihoods are protected. As announced at the 2020 Summer Economic Update, £2.5bn over two years will be spent on the four building decarbonisation schemes in support of the UK’s commitment to net zero whilst supporting jobs in strategic sectors. In addition, the £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund will provide funding for projects across England to restore nature while creating and safeguarding jobs. Across the projects awarded at the first round of the Fund we estimate that more than 1,500 jobs and traineeships will be created or retained within the conservation sector and its suppliers. Finally, the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, is designed to mobilise up to £12 billion of Government investment to create and support up to 250,000 highly skilled green jobs in the UK. 6. We further recommend that the Government establish clear and ambitious statutory targets for the state of nature, waste minimisation, water quality and air quality under the Environment Bill once enacted. (Paragraph 50 of the EAC report) The Environment Bill targets framework creates a power for the Government to set long-term, legally binding targets across the natural environment. The framework places a duty on Government to set at least one such target in each of the four priority areas: air quality, water, biodiversity and waste reduction and resource efficiency, as well as a target for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Legally binding environmental targets are an important tool. They will drive action by successive Governments to protect and enhance the natural world. They allow for robust, objective scrutiny and accountability of Government’s progress. And they provide much-needed long-term certainty to businesses and society, to support planning, innovation and investment. This includes helping to stimulate investments in green technology and innovative practices. Targets will be set following a robust, evidence-led process that includes a statutory requirement to seek independent expert advice, and a role for stakeholders and the public, as well as scrutiny from Parliament. The Government is working towards a public consultation that will include proposed targets and an assessment of their impacts for publication in early 2022. 7. We congratulate the Bank of England on its laudable work highlighting the financial risks from climate change in recent years. The Bank of England has led the world in this regard, not least by becoming the first central bank to publish its own climate-related financial disclosure. The Bank is to be commended for its leadership on this . (Paragraph 79 of the EAC report) 8. The Government should clarify that the Bank’s monetary policy remit should include climate and nature objectives in the conduct of UK monetary policy, including when considering any extension of the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) or future such mechanisms. We recommend that if any future support is offered via the CCFF , the Bank should require recipients to publish climate-related financial disclosures in line with the Government’s Green Finance Strategy as a minimum condition. (Paragraph 80 of the EAC report) At the Budget, the Chancellor updated the remit for the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Subject to maintaining price stability, the MPC’s secondary objective is to support the economic policy of the Government. In the Budget the description of the Government’s economic policy was updated in the MPC remit to reflect the Government’s economic strategy for achieving strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is also environmentally sustainable and consistent with the transition to a net zero economy. On 9 November 2020, the Chancellor announced the UK’s intention to make Task F