Before the election, the then shadow chancellor George Osborne used to give speeches about how Labour had given green taxes – fundamentally a good thing – a bad name.

Now, in the heat and rush of the comprehensive spending review, that is exactly what he has done with his last-minute raid on the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (see our coverage).

This was by far the most striking and concrete environment/carbon element of last week’s Comprehensive Spending Review, which left low carbon business largely in the dark. The green investment bank, the renewable heat incentive, investment in carbon capture and storage are all still to play for. (more…)

The phrase ‘greenest government ever’ has become a mantra for the Coalition, not least for David Cameron and energy and climate secretary Chris Huhne. And we are assured that at the heart of the vision is Britain’s commitment to a low carbon future.

Emissions should be cut by at least 34% by 2020 relative to 1990. Low-carbon businesses and technologies should help drive the UK out of recession and towards green growth.

We will see whether these ambitions translate into reality or get lost in a fog of fiscal expediency when the government publishes its spending review in less than a week’s time. (more…)