黑洞社区

Energy secretary Amber Rudd has attacked policies that encourage a 鈥減ermanent reliance on subsidy鈥� after axing a number of low carbon and renewable energy schemes in recent weeks.

Her comments come after the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announced yesterday it has stopped funding for Green Deal due to a low take-up and concerns about industry standards.

This followed the department鈥檚 decision the day before to scrap subsidies for new and existing small scale solar farms, and comes after DECC also stopped funding for new onshore wind farms.

Addressing business leaders in the City in her first major speech as energy secretary, Rudd (pictured) said the government is 鈥渃ommitted to taking action on climate change鈥� and added that it will push for a 鈥渟trong, ambitious, rules-based agreement that makes the shift to a clean global economy irreversible鈥� at the climate change summit in Paris this December.

Despite axing several schemes recently, the energy secretary said the government can 鈥減rovide the support鈥� needed for low carbon technologies, 鈥渂ut that support must help technologies eventually stand on their own two feet, not to encourage a permanent reliance on subsidy.鈥�

Rudd called for a market-based approach to tackling climate change and said: 鈥淐limate action is about security, plain and simple - economic security.鈥�

She added: 鈥淭he bottom line is this - if we are acting on climate change to preserve our economic prosperity, we have to make sure that climate change action is pro-growth, pro-business.鈥�

Rudd confirmed existing investment in renewable energy schemes would be protected, while DECC confirmed the energy company obligation (ECO) will not be affected by the Green Deal announcement.