Sir Ed Davey will today (Friday) pledge that the Liberal Democrats would invest £100 billion of public money on tackling the climate emergency.
In his general election keynote speech in Leeds, the Lib Dems shadow chancellor and deputy leader said the party would invest the extra money over the five-year lifetime of the next parliament if it forms the next government.
The sum includes a new £10 billion Renewable Power Fund that would be designed to leverage in over £100 billion of extra private climate investment.
Davey, who was secretary of state of energy and climate change in the coalition government, is due to say: “A Liberal Democrat government will jump-start an economy-wide programme to tackle the climate emergency.”
He added that the Renewable Power Fund would “fast-track deployment of clean energy, to make Britain not just the world leader in offshore wind, but also the global number one in tidal power too”.
Davey also reiterated his party’s promise to invest £15 billion more in energy efficiency “to make every building in the country greener, with an emergency ten-year programme to save energy, end fuel poverty and cut heating bills”.
Davey’s speech follows the announcement by the Conservatives on Wednesday that they plan to increase offshore wind power capacity to 40GW by 2030, 10GW more than currently planned for.