New Prime Minister Theresa May has been criticised for cutting DECC during her reshuffle of the cabinet yesterday, putting green building at risk…
When David Cameron first got into power he pledged his government would be the greenest ever. This, sadly, did not transpire, with numerous green energy and building initiatives scrapped. This included Green Deal, Zero Carbon Homes, and subsidies for renewable energy sources.
Now, it appears his successor Theresa May has gone one step further by cutting the department that deals with climate change.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was a major casualty of yesterday’s cabinet reshuffle. Instead May created a new department: the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which brings together the former BIS (Business, Innovation and Skills) and DECC.
The decision was heavily criticised by politicians and the industry. ClientEarth, who took the government to court last year regarding air pollution and won, said the decision was the wrong one to make.
Chief executive James Thornton said: “At a time when the challenge of climate change becomes ever more pressing, the government has scrapped the department devoted to tackling it.
“This is a statement of disregard for one of the most challenging economic, social and environmental issues humans have ever faced.
“It sends a terrible signal at the worst possible time, undermining efforts to secure a clean, safe energy future.”
Chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders Brian Berry said the decision signalled that improving the efficiency of the existing building stock has been pushed further down the list of government priorities.
He said: “Three years ago Cameron told his officials to “cut the green crap” and May has taken this further still by dissolving DECC. This means that there will be no Cabinet-level Minister championing climate change issues at the highest level of Government, which is bound to result in less emphasis and less action.
“Andrea Leadsom’s appointment as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs provides little solace when you consider that she has regularly voted against measures to tackle climate change in the past. This matters because for May’s newly-formed Government to side-line its green policies, would be to sacrifice their numerous economic benefits.”
He added: “May should make improving our existing buildings an infrastructure investment priority as the knock-on benefits for jobs and growth are enormous.
“A programme to make British buildings more energy efficient would generate £8.7 billion of net benefits.
“This is comparable to the benefits delivered by the first phase of HS2, Crossrail, smart meter roll out, or investment in new roads.
“And unlike these large infrastructure projects, work to improve our existing buildings is not at the mercy of the lengthy and protracted planning process – work could start tomorrow.
“We welcome the appointment of Justine Greening as Secretary of State for Education with responsibility for skills and apprentices, which previously came under the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
“We hope that she continues the good work of Nick Boles in improving the quality of apprenticeships, which will in turn help elevate their status so that they are recognised by society as of equal worth to university degrees.
“Greening has a solid background in transport and treasury briefs which will no doubt help her understand the importance of having a properly skilled construction workforce. As we face the prospect of Brexit, combating the construction skills crisis has never been more important.”