A Not So Blue Budget

Today saw the Chancellor deliver the UK Governments budget for the year ahead. Unsurprisingly the budget focused on the measures the government will take to help the UK economy recover from the pandemic. But what did it do to help the blue planet recover?

This is what our CEO Hugo Tagholm thought.

“As we begin to see light at the end of the COVID tunnel, todays budget was a chance to help the UK economy get back on its feet after the challenges of the health crisis. It was also a chance for the Government to put their money where their mouth is and deliver on their promise to ‘build back better’ and invest in the blue and green jobs which are vital in delivering a sustainable recovery, which works for people and the planet.

Whilst the budget includes welcome measures such as a new green savings bond and a UK investment bank to fund renewable energy and green infrastructure, it also includes worrying measures such as the freezing of fuel duty and does nothing to stop further investment into heavy carbon industries.

Once again then, the Government is falling short of delivering on their own rhetoric, and the budget fails to show the ambition needed to tackle the dual biodiversity and climate change crisis the planet faces.

As we build towards the G7 Summit and COP26 Boris Johnson must set an example to the world, and demonstrate the same adaptability as he has during the pandemic and rapidly reprioritise investment in measures to recover nature and the ocean, which will also create the sustainable blue and green jobs which people and the economy need.

The Government has a once in a lifetime opportunity to reshape our economy with the welfare of people and the planet at the centre, we can’t afford more empty promises or half measures.

The time to act is now, the world is watching.”

Image: The Chancellor leaving No.11 to deliver the budget