§ Lord Thomas of Macclesfieldasked Her Majesty's Government:
What plans they have to encourage development by new or existing companies to take advantage of new markets in alternatives to fossil fuel; and
Whether they will ensure that manufacturing of equipment needed to develop renewable sources of energy will be located in or near regions which are suffering, or will suffer, from a reduced demand for fossil fuel; and
Whether they accept the estimates of the recent European Commission Green Paper (COM 12109/96) on Energy for the Future—Renewable Sources of Energy that 1,250,000 jobs with annual exports of some £10 billion per annum will be created when alternatives to fossil fuel are introduced; and what plans they have to ensure that the United Kingdom will take advantage of these employment opportunities, particularly in the mining areas.
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§ Lord Simon of HighburyThe Government are undertaking a new and strong drive to develop renewable energy sources in line with our manifesto commitment. UK industry is well placed to exploit the growing market over the next decade and to take its share of employment opportunities.
The European Commission has now published its White Paper on Energy for the Future: Renewable Sources of Energy, which makes similar claims to the earlier Green Paper. We shall be studying the White Paper over the coming months but we agree with the view expressed in the White Paper that net employment figures in the renewable energy sector are difficult to predict and calculate. It is also difficult to obtain accurate figures for current levels of exports, so the estimate of £10 billion of annual exports across the EC as a whole at some point in the future is difficult to verify.