There was an article in the Guardian yesterday (I still hanker after typing Grauniad) suggesting that Chris Huhne has a fight on his hands to keep DECC as a stand-alone department and to secure adequate funding. I can well imagine the troubles that the department is having. In my last year at EST it was clear that this relatively young and small department had few friends in the Treasury. One has to hope that Huhne succeeds, though. It would be a major blow to the claim that this government is "the greenest ever" if DECC were to be swallowed up - after all, its creation at last suggested a willingness to break down the barriers and conflicts that have existed for years between civil servants with the business/energy brief and those on the environmental/climate change side. Having said that, as with, I guess, most departments, there are some woefully inadequate members of staff who would not be missed.
These reported moves also bring into question just what form the proposed green bank will take, what powers it will have (lending etc) and whether there will be any government funding. I'm with Caroline Lucas in thinking that tackling climate change should take priority over spending cuts (but then I would be, wouldn't I?). The signs as not good for Treasury to provide significant, or even barely adequate, funding.
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