- Government paid £500million of taxpayers' money to the Indian owners of Tata
Senior Conservatives have attacked the 'Trojan Horse' of the Net Zero green agenda in the wake of 2,500 jobs being lost at Port Talbot steelworks in South Wales.
Critics have argued that the Net Zero target of eliminating additional greenhouse emissions by 2050 was helping to cripple the UK's industrial base.
The job losses at Port Talbot, Britain's biggest steelworks, follow the replacement of its blast furnaces with an electric arc furnace that will emit less CO2.
The Government paid £500million of taxpayers' money to the Indian owners, Tata Steel, to help meet a £1.25billion cost of converting to the electric arc process.
Now top Tories have warned against new plans for Government bodies and regulators to define moves towards economic growth in terms of 'sustainability'.
It would mean that regulators such as Ofcom, who have a duty to support economic growth when they take decisions, would have to pivot to also demonstrate their 'alignment with environmentally sustainable objectives'.
The move, which is the subject of a Whitehall consultation, comes as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is hoping to spark the economy into life in time for this year's general election.
Last night former Leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg called for the ditching of the new environmentally-based 'growth duty' definition.
'The viscera of the Net Zero Trojan Horse contain the enemies of growth,' he said.
'They aim to destroy the Government's last efforts to turn our economy around. Regulators must not be distracted with the flowery words of environmental objectives but need to concentrate on competition and growth.
'I fear the greens even when they bear regulatory gifts.'
Former Brexit Minister Lord Frost added: 'Setting these as legal objectives for regulators opens the door for spurious legal challenges by political campaigners, wasting time and money and distracting regulators further from their vital role in keeping the UK economy moving.
'If the Government is serious about fixing the economy, it must not allow the central mission of growth to be hijacked by special interest groups, who often care more about hamstringing growth than promoting it.'
They were speaking after economists on the independent Growth Commission urged the Government to use per capita GDP as the core definition of 'growth duty'.
Shanker Singham, co-chairman of the Growth Commission, said: 'Regulators should have a clear responsibility to consider the impact of their actions on economic growth as defined by impact on GDP per capita.
'Though a worthy cause, conflating the Government's environmental objectives with economic objectives of regulator activity will lead to confusion and could lead to decisions that will damage both economic growth and environmental sustainability.'
https://news.google.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?oc=5
2024-01-21 00:22:00Z
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
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar