The economy of the future will be low carbon and green, and the
UK is well positioned to lead this global transition. The Budget
sets out how the government is accelerating this shift to a clean
economy, building on the Industrial Strategy, Clean Growth
Strategy, and 25 Year Environment Plan.
Industrial Energy Transformation Fund – As part of the Industrial
Strategy, the government will establish an Industrial Energy
Transformation Fund, backed by up to £315 million of
investment, to support businesses with high energy use to
transition to a low carbon future and to cut their bills through
increased energy efficiency. (42)
Improving business energy efficiency – The government will issue
a call for evidence on introducing a new Business Energy
Efficiency Scheme, focused on smaller businesses. Over time, this
scheme will reduce business energy bills and carbon emissions.
The call for evidence will seek views on a range of possible
delivery options.
Tackling air quality – £20 million additional funding will be
allocated to support more local authorities to meet their air
quality obligations. (41)
Flood risk management – The Budget allocates £13 million to
tackle risks from floods and climate change, through pilot
projects to ensure property owners have the best
information on protecting their homes, and expanding the
flood warning system to an additional 62,000 at‑risk
properties.
Plastics and waste innovation funding – The government is
providing £20 million to support measures in this Budget to
tackle plactics and boost recycling – £10 million more for
plastics R&D, and £10 million to pioneer innovative
approaches to boosting recycling and reducing litter, such as
smart bins. (38)
Supporting abandoned waste site clearance – A government pilot
scheme will make available up to £10 million to the Environment
Agency to work with partners to clear the worst abandoned waste
sites that blight local communities. (39)
Funding for tree planting – Planting trees helps offset carbon
emissions and supports wildlife. To provide the long-term
certainty needed for investment in woodland, the government will
set up a Woodland Carbon Guarantee scheme which will support the
planting of around 10 million trees by purchasing up to £50
million of carbon credits for qualifying tree planting. The
government will also provide £10 million funding between 2019-20
and 2022-23 for local community street trees and urban trees.
(40)
Supporting the UK fishing sector – The government is investing
£10 million from UK Research and Innovation to establish an
innovation fund to help transform the industry and ensure the UK
is a world leader in safe, sustainable and productive fishing. £2
million will also be provided for fishing safety projects across
England and to give the devolved administrations the ability to
do the same.
Avoiding food waste – Around 250 million meals’ worth of
accessible edible food is needlessly wasted every year. The
government will provide £15 million to charities and others to
distribute this surplus food. (83)
