Jeremy Corbyn pledges £300m for energy and climate research

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pledged to establish a £300 million hi-tech research agency to help tackle energy security and climate change. He said the proposed US-style Advanced Research Agency would […]

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pledged to establish a £300 million hi-tech research agency to help tackle energy security and climate change.

He said the proposed US-style Advanced Research Agency would carry out “cutting edge” research and take advantage of the market for renewable energy.

Mr Corbyn, who is battling Owen Smith for the Labour leadership, added it would attract “the best minds from UK and across the world”.

He said: “It is crucial for both energy security and tackling climate change that we give the most serious investment and incentives to high-tech R&D.

“My pledge to establish a dedicated Advanced Research Agency will help tackle the global social challenge of climate change and make fundamental breakthroughs in energy science. It will put the UK in the best possible place to take advantage of the rapidly growing global renewable energy market, forecast to reach $630 billion (£474bn) worldwide by 2030.”

The Labour leader also criticised the government’s cuts to renewable subsidies: “The Tory cuts to the UK renewables sector – including dramatically cutting Feed-in Tariffs and subsidies for domestic installation – are nonsensical and a damaging backwards step in our efforts to decarbonise our energy production.

“My pledge is about ensuring that the UK is at the forefront of world-leading technology development in a sector of growing demand.”

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