Next government must be ‘loud and proud’ about green growth, says CBI chief

Rain Newton-Smith will tell a conference in London on Monday that there is a risk in trying to ‘separate the economy from net zero’.

CBI chief Rain Newton-Smith will tell a conference on Monday that the next government cannot be pro-growth without being pro-green (Aaron Chown/PA) (PA Archive)

The next government cannot be pro-growth without being pro-green, according to a business leader.

Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the CBI, will tell a conference in London on Monday that there is a risk in trying to “separate the economy from net zero”.

As the General Election campaign enters its final days, she will highlight the “deafening silence from all the parties about the issues of climate change, biodiversity loss, net zero and our planet.”

Research by the CBI suggests the next government could add as much as £57 billion to the economy from green growth by 2030.

The CBI leader will call on both of the main parties to commit to delivering steps to achieving green growth.

Whoever forms the next government has to let the world know it’s serious about the investment opportunities from net zero and that we’re in this for the long haul. Make decisions and stick to them

Rain Newton-Smith, CBI

“The next government has got to be loud and proud in making green growth part of a new investor pitch for Brand Britain,” she will say.

“No more prevarication, no more rowed back commitments. Whoever forms the next government has to let the world know it’s serious about the investment opportunities from net zero and that we’re in this for the long haul. Make decisions and stick to them.”

She will add that businesses want the creation of an Office for Net Zero to co-ordinate action across government departments.

“It’s a dangerous error to try and separate it (the economy) from net zero.

“There is still too much in our political discourse that amounts to ‘Can we afford to go for net zero?’ But the real question is, can we afford not to?”