Rishi Sunak's green recovery plan is the only way to boost the British economy | Alexander Stafford

We environmentally minded Conservatives know there's no contradiction between being blue and greenAs a green Conservative, I warmly welcome the environmental steps announced by the chancellor in his summer economic update on Wednesday. The government has made a decisive commitment to the green agenda which places the environment at the heart of policymaking for decades to come.The launch of the "kickstart" jobs scheme and the unveiling of the new apprenticeships scheme provide incentives to our existing green companies to train up young people and, in doing so, greatly boost the UK's green workforce. However, the chancellor recognises that we must greatly expand the green sector in order for it to become a mainstay of our economy and for us to reap the abundant environmental benefits.That is exactly why I praise the ?2bn green homes grant; the ?1bn to improve the energy efficiency of public sector buildings; and the ?50m million to pilot the decarbonisation of social housing. This very considerable ?3bn package will support 140,000 green jobs, save households up to ?300 a year on their bills, and make more than 650,000 homes more energy efficient. It will cut carbon emissions by more than half a megatonne per year, equivalent to taking 270,000 cars off the road. Continue reading...