ecotricity has launched its 2030 vision/manifesto for the Green Britain it thinks we should be living in. Using research and modelling from Cambridge Econometrics, a consultancy, ecotricity sets out what Britain would be like in 2030 if we adopt ambitious targets for emissions reduction, renewables and electric cars. It outlines how we can get there. The modelling reveals both economic and environmental benefit to the country, including up to £5bn increase in GDP by adopting electric cars, a saving of almost £8bn on Britain’s annual oil import bill, and £1.25bn in health and environmental benefits. The vision outlines includes:
• Creating a Minister for Carbon – to set carbon limits across all sectors of the economy
• Ensuring Britain’s power generation is 80% renewable by 2030 – saving £11.7bn in fossil fuel costs
• Implementing ‘Quantitative Greening’ – deploying quantitative easing by the Bank of England directly into the renewables sector
• Ending fossil fuel subsidies – all government support for fossil fuels cut off by 2025
• Increasing support for electric cars – including scrapping VAT, helping to ensure all new cars are electric by 2030
Notice how little of this seems to depend on any formal educational interventions. But it's bound to involve lots of learning by all sorts of people and organisations, and more than a little social marketing.
Responses
This report had flown under my radar and I was strangely un-moved by it. Its worthy but hardly energising reading, especially if one knows that the economic motivations at the moment are around keeping asset prices high and the stream of economic rent which comes from this. Making a merely reasonable case for change is hand waving at the moment.
Perhaps it is just the hack of the flag behind Dale Vince (how droll: its green...) and the talk of green in a way that feels increasingly at odds with the political climate at present. As for education it would be great if that were highlighted and I'd propose more on systems thinking and some basic but enlightened economics. Not exactly easy either of them.