Innovation UK > News > Innovation News > Call for green fund

A major new fund for green innovation has been proposed by the Green Investment Bank (GIB). The UK Fund for Green Growth would operate as a separate arm within the GIB and comprise £2.1bn from existing environmental funds alongside a £185m per year investment budget from the Carbon Trust, the Energy Technologies Institute and the low-carbon arm of the Technology Strategy Board.

According to Nick Mabey, GIB Commission member, the Bank?s priority should be to invest in ?proven? areas with the greatest potential impact, such as energy efficiency projects and offshore wind farms. ?A separate growth fund will allow continued focus on new technology,? says Mabey. ?By having more financial expertise and a bigger balance sheet, the GIB will be able to make better and larger investments than the somewhat tokenistic investments that exist now.?

There are high hopes that environmental businesses will grow strongly in the coming years. ?The green economy will generate one million jobs in the UK and achieve a market size of £46bn within a few years,? says Jonathan Kestenbaum, chief executive of NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts). ?The new fund [GIB], alongside better use of Government spending power, positions this sector at the heart of a rebalanced economy.?

David Nicholson