The scale of the economic
"success story" delivered by the UK's green businesses is highlighted with the release of a major new report revealing how low-carbon industries are now among the UK's largest employers, accounting for almost 10 per cent of economic activity.
The new report from the
Green Alliance think tank draws on a raft of official government figures to summarise the current state of the
green economy, confirming that the sector was worth £122bn in 2011 and has been consistently growing at between four and five per cent since the financial crisis of 2008.
It also contrasts the 939,600 people regarded by the government as being employed in low-carbon and environmental jobs with other sectors, revealing that the green economy has a significantly higher workforce than the auto industry, which employs just over half a million people, and the telecommunications sector, which employs just 212,900 people.
Perhaps most significantly, the report uncovers figures from the
Treasury's most recent infrastructure investment pipeline data, which show that the top 20 infrastructure projects planned for 2012-13 will deliver £23bn of investment, including £14.5bn of public investment, £7bn of public/private investment and just £1.4bn of public investment.
In contrast, high-carbon infrastructure accounts for just £3.1bn of projects, including £1.9bn of public investment.