Leading the charge to a green revolution
ISINCE the beginning of March the focus of the nation’s attention has been on coronavirus; how we survive it and how we beat it. Despite the huge surge in cases we now have medications which fight the disease and vaccines coming on stream which will lead us out of this crisis and, as individuals, we just have to continue to follow the rules.
Because of the pandemic and the intense media surrounding it, I am sure many believed it was the only thing the Government were dealing with and that other issues were being forgotten or not considered important.
The announcement this week on the green jobs industrial revolution shows only too clearly how different departments of Government are working together to change how we live and conduct business in a sustainable way.
We all know how important it is to stop the advance of climate change. We need to do this to protect our homes from devastating weather events and ensure our children and grandchildren are able to grow up with all the joys of nature we took for granted.
The 10-point plan announced by the Prime Minister covers energy, transport, home and public sector building, tree planting, development of technologies and ensuring the City of London becomes the global centre of green finance. The aims of this plan are huge and bold and the announcement came only after extensive consultation with all of the businesses and organisations who will partner the Government to achieve it.
For many years our reliance on oil has been a concern. We import most of what we use and we know the world supply is finite. We have invested in wind and solar energy but the progress being made was just too slow.
What was needed was a major leap forward and, in line with our manifesto pledges, that is what we can look forward to.
From 2030 the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned but the date for the phasing out of hybrid cars is 2035. For many years Toyota have been at the forefront of producing cleaner, greener cars with their hybrid technology and their continued production for a further fifteen years is the ideal transition from fossil fuel powered cars to the electric and hydrogen cell alternatives.
Please be reassured, the ban only applies to the purchase of new vehicles, we will all still be able to buy and trade our used petrol and diesel cars and vans.
It is amazing when you consider how many vehicles are produced here in the United Kingdom that every battery fitted had to be imported. I am pleased to say that is going to change between now and 2030, with a major investment in battery technology as well as a nationwide rollout of electric charging points.
It has been the shortage of charging points, the miles a vehicle will travel on a charge as well as the cost which has so far made us shy away from changing to electric. As electric vehicles become more mainstream, prices will come down, which is exactly what we saw with technologies such as computers.
As far as energy is concerned, the plan is realistic. Moving entirely to green production is a longer term aim but in the meantime we need to ensure there is no possibility of our lights going out or our manufacturing being interrupted.
The inclusion of nuclear energy provision can give us that security and Rolls-Royce’s development of mini nuclear reactors will form an integral part of the plan. Small modular reactors built here in Derbyshire will create and retain green jobs locally.
The plan will result in new jobs – jobs which may require new skills, and I will be working with our local businesses, schools and colleges to ensure people here know what they are and what they need to do to take advantage of all the opportunities on offer.