Less blah blah blah: We need more #GreenTechEquity

East Lancashire Chamber’s delegation of leading low carbon tech firms returned home from Glasgow invigorated and driven to call for Boris Johnson’s government to finally step up to the challenge.

Clear asks were distilled from the two weeks of rhetoric: actions to drive low carbon tech adoption; to make it realistically possible for all our SMEs and householders; and to drive the global move to net zero using our own Lancsashire low carbon innovation.

Primarily, Boris and his team must urgently make policy changes so low carbon tech is at the heart of daily contract life for our industries - firm requirements in every planning consent, every public sector procurement, landfill taxation that has a real effect, minimum recycled percentage of materials in every new product and foresight on what carbon taxation may come in the future to allow businesses to really prepare.

But to enable our SMEs, our sole traders and our residents to buy in (literally) to these new technologies we have to see real and trustworthy green financing schemes. So many seem to be out there now, subsiding your heat pump purchase over so many years - blah blah blah as Greta would say!

Government must ratify these schemes and make sure the public has real confidence to use them, or we will never see the adoption at pace we need.

Finally - if we want the world to really move toward net zero, just like we’ve supported the developing nations with #VaccineEquity and given them the vaccine supplies so very needed, we’re going to need to GIVE those countries in need those green tech innovations to help them steer away from coal and gas before they’ve really started.

These are the very technology solutions Lancashire is so very good at innovating - let’s make them here and sell them to the rest. Then see our governments make sure they go where they’re needed - for us all.

#GreenTechEquity - it’s the only way!