Sussex Councillors Call For Gov't To Invest £1 Billion In Maritime For 'Green Industrial Revolution'

Thursday, 8 October 2020 11:25

By Charlotte Baker @Ch4rtweets

The leaders of Brighton and Hove City Council, Arun District Council and West Sussex County Council are among 40 council leaders calling on the Chancellor to invest £1 billion in the maritime sector.

Brighton and Hove City Council's leader Phélim Mac Cafferty, Arun District Council's leader Dr James Walsh and West Sussex County Council's lader Paul Marshall signed a letter urging the Government to invest more in the sector yesterday (Wednesday).

According to Maritime UK, the funding is hoped to 'kick-start a world-leading maritime decarbonisation programme, creating tens of thousands of new green jobs as part of a green industrial revolution.'

The letter comes a day after Boris Johnson’s Party Conference speech, in which he set out his blue print for a ‘green industrial revolution’ and to invest £160m in ports and factories to manufacture the next generation of wind turbines.

The letter warns that without a more ambitious investment, the Government will not be able to meet its legally-binding net-zero emissions targets.

The investment would help develop zero-emission vessels and green infrastructure to install and service new windfarms announced by the Prime Minister.

According to the body, the lifespan of many vessels is around twenty years, so zero-emission vessels will need to be in the water by the end of this decade, and the solutions are not yet viable. The funding would be spent on research and development and green infrastructure.

Read the full letter below.

Ben Murray, Director of Maritime UK, said:

“That this letter has been signed by mayors and council leaders from across the United Kingdom demonstrates the unique role that maritime plays across the whole country. Our Spending Review bid would create 74,000 well-paid, high-quality green collar jobs. And such is the nature of maritime, the vast majority of these would be in coastal towns and cities across the UK. There are very few sectors that can match maritime for its ability to level-up these communities.

"The maritime sector supports the PM’s pledge to invest £160m into ports and factories to manufacture the next generation of wind turbines. But we want the Government to go further.

"The sector has been calling for £1bn of investment in the planned Spending Review to kickstart the green investment needed to decarbonise the maritime sector entirely. Without doing so, the UK cannot reach its net-zero commitments.

"The reality is that businesses have burnt through their cash reserves keeping Britain supplied with fuel, food and medicine throughout the COVID crisis. They simply don't have the capital to invest in green technology and infrastructure on their own.

"As these Mayors and Council Leaders have shown, backing maritime does more than simply support a single sector: it will help transform the fortunes of coastal towns and cities around the United Kingdom. It is therefore absolutely critical the sector gets the Government investment it requires, and now."