CBI energy report - Greenpeace response

In a report released yesterday the CBI has called call for the contribution from wind power to be reduced in favour of nuclear energy as means of decarbonising the electricity sector.

Commenting on the CBI report, Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said:

"The CBI claims to represent the interests of British industry, but by calling for wind power's contribution to our renewable energy targets to be reduced it's actually doing its members a great disservice."

He continued:

"Nuclear power is less effective than wind power at tackling climate change, while investment in renewables would create much needed British jobs in one of the few growth sectors in the global economy. Here in the UK we have one of the best renewable energy resources anywhere in the world and a manufacturing sector champing at the bit to capture the lead in marine technologies like offshore wind and tidal power."

The government's business advisory group - set up to accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy - concluded in a report last week that by meeting its renewable energy targets the UK would create 250,000 jobs and generate revenue of £70bn from wind and wave technology by 2050. The report also added that by 2020 the UK could become a world leader in offshore wind, capturing 45 per cent of the global offshore wind power industry.

Instead of working to realise this much needed boost to the UK economy, Greenpeace believes the CBI has prioritised representing members like EDF which are interested only in pushing a new generation of nuclear reactors in the UK, which will do little to deliver a secure, indigenous, globally replicable solution to the problems of climate change and energy security while creating jobs. The record of the nuclear industry in delivering cheap, reliable energy is poor (construction of a new Finnish reactor - touted as a example of how nuclear can deliver - is now three years behind schedule after three years of construction, and substantially over budget).

Sauven added:

"The existing bill for nuclear waste already stretches beyond £100bn, but that hasn't stopped EDF already calling for renewable energy to be constrained because it has the potential to render new nuclear stations even more uneconomic. The company can't even deliver its only new reactor construction, at Flammenville in northern France, on time or on budget. It's a shame that the Confederation of British Industry is lobbying furiously for a French state-owned energy giant instead of UK-based renewables companies."

Brown should heed CBI warning about another fiscal stimulus

George Osborne has urged Gordon Brown to listen to warnings from the CBI against another debt-funded fiscal stimulus.

In their Budget submission, the CBI (the Confederation of British Industry) make clear that the alarming state of the public finances rules out the option of a further significant fiscal stimulus, as it would undermine business and institutional investor confidence in the UK.

George, the Shadow Chancellor, said, “This is a very significant moment. Coming hard on the heels of European governments, this warning from the CBI about the dangers of a further debt-funded fiscal stimulus supports the Conservative argument about the risks of rising debt.”

And he stressed, “Gordon Brown is now looking increasingly isolated at home and abroad in his attempt to make the argument for even more borrowing.”

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently rejected calls for European nations to consider new fiscal stimulus packages to help ease the impact of the global downturn - and a key econmoic think-tank, the Ernst & Young Item club, warned the Government has limited scope to implement its planned stimulus package as borrowing soars

(BERR) Final curtain call for rogue agencies

The Government today begins a consultation designed to crack down on entertainment and modelling agencies that exploit aspiring actors and models.

One proposal being examined is a ban on allowing agencies to charge up-front fees to people who think they might be the next big thing. There is a concern that some agencies are charging exorbitant amounts without any likelihood of securing castings or work for the aspiring performer.

Employment Relations Minister Pat McFadden said:

"Last year we introduced a cooling-off period for up-front fees, but we are still receiving reports that models and entertainers are being exploited. So now we propose to go further to stop young people being ripped off.

"I don't want to tread on anyone's hopes or dreams, but I don't want to see these hopes and dreams exploited by unscrupulous agents and that's why we are bringing forward these proposals."

Ben Seale, Managing Director of Spotlight said:

"Spotlight fully supports BERR's attempts to tackle the abuse of upfront fees in the entertainment and modelling sector. We will work closely with them to develop measures that stop the rogue operators, while allowing legitimate industry directories to continue with their vital role in the casting process."

This broad-ranging consultation will also consider whether there is any unnecessary red-tape that can be removed to help honest businesses. Guy Bailey, Senior Policy Advisor on Employment issues at the Confederation of Business and Industry said:

"The CBI welcomes measures to remove unnecessary burdens on employers; when economic growth returns, removing avoidable employment costs will help employment growth to resume more quickly."

(BERR) Joint statement by business secretary Peter Mandelson and CBI president Martin Broughton

Business leaders from G20 countries around the world have been meeting UK Government Ministers ahead of the London Summit on April 2nd.

We had a useful and constructive discussion and urged the G20 to achieve three things:

1. Urgently renew the commitment to conclude the WTO Round.

This is the best insurance policy the international community has against a retreat to protectionism; a successful Doha Round alone would insure against protectionist pressures that could cost the global economy as much as $170bn a year.

2. To increase the supply of trade finance.

International and government institutions need to step in to substitute private flows of trade finance which have been drying up. If left unchecked, this could restrain many hundreds of billions of dollars of global trade over the next two years.

3. To pursue the need for anti-protectionism across the globe.

While demand is a factor, protectionism could be playing a part in the fall in trade. We therefore call on G20 to reconfirm and strengthen their commitment not to bring in protectionist measures, reconfirming the outcomes of the Washington summit, but focussing also on non tariff measures such as subsidies, anti dumping action and licencing restrictions. We also agreed it was important to make sure that the monitoring of adherence to these commitments has realty.

As the London Summit draws near, we believe that the response of the G20 leaders must be decisive and wide-ranging, in the interests of our long-term prosperity.