Shadow energy secretary proposes 'Green Deal' to cut carbon emissions and create tens of thousands of jobs

Tens of thousands of jobs will be created by plans to green UK homes and cut the country’s carbon emissions, the Conservative Party has claimed.

Greg Clark, shadow energy and climate change secretary, speaking at the Tory conference in Manchester yesterday outlined proposals for a “Green Deal”, which it said would reduce the country’s carbon footprint and boost the ailing job market.


Greg Clark, Shadow energy secretary

He said a future Conservative government would open up a new competitive market in energy efficiency services worth at least £2.5bn a year and create more than 70,000 jobs, including at least 3,500 apprenticeships.

Around 36,000 jobs would be created in installation and surveying and a further 42,000 in the energy efficiency supply chain, the Tories said.

Plans to improve the carbon footprint of the least efficient homes could save around 9.4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, they added.

Other energy pledges set out by Clark include immediately authorising 5 GW of clean coal capacity, building marine energy parks, upgrading the national grid and publishing nuclear power planning guidance.

Clark said: “A Conservative government would begin with a bound and with immediate action to keep Britain’s lights on, to cut greenhouse gas emissions and give Britain leadership in a low carbon world.”