More incentives 'needed to encourage green technology'

The government's environmental legislation needs to include more incentives for businesses to use green technology, according to an expert.

Dan Ilett, editor in chief of Greenbang.com, said the use of waste-cutting and energy-efficient technology should be encouraged in the UK.

He noted that as 80 per cent of carbon emissions come from cities, the government should focus on these areas in order to slow down the effects of climate change.

"There aren't necessarily enough incentives for people or companies to get involved with [clean technology uptake]," Mr Ilett stated.

He went on to say that more help could be given to companies that are providing these solutions, as well as motivations for other firms to invest in them.

Ernst & Young recently released results from a survey which found that only 13 per cent of 529 businesses think the government will encourage the success of the clean tech sector this year.

This is a drop from the 38 per cent who were positive about the coalition's intentions with this market between August and October 2010.

Posted by Claire Manning