Communities need skills to make the most of a Green Investment Bank

The Green Investment Bank will be a big step towards a sustainable future, but the government must ensure that it unlocks the potential of local authorities and community groups as well as business.

The Green Investment Bank Commission’s report calls for the government to set up a flexible bank to reduce the risk to private investors investing in greening our power supply, increasing the energy efficiency of our buildings and our transport systems.

The bank, as proposed, would represent a big step towards a low-carbon economy, bringing greater energy security, new jobs and a higher quality of life. Big advances in green infrastructure, like offshore wind farms, are crucial to change at the speed we need to see in the UK to meet carbon targets.

Yet there is much that a community-led approach to an energy revolution can bring too. And this can create local skilled jobs, strengthen community ties and help people lift themselves to a higher quality of life. Communities in energy cooperatives have saved a third off their energy bills just by changing their behaviour, offshore wind doesn’t do this. So I was delighted that the commission has understood the role of financial investment in this community-led approach too.

However, we also need investment in skills to enable local government and community groups to take advantage of this funding opportunity. At Forum for the Future we have been working with West Sussex County Council, the South East of England Development Agency and a group of local authorities and community enterprises in our Climate Finance initiative to find out how to do this, and making great progress with some inspiring people. Other initiatives like the Ashden Awards and the Low Carbon Communities Challenge are also leading the way.

The challenge now is to scale up so that every community takes action. The advisory group of experts we have been working with are often translators between sustainability and finance teams within local government. Good opportunities are often missed due to a lack of understanding. If we could develop these skills, then local authorities and groups like Transition Towns and energy co-ops will be the experts, creating the new ways of financing local investment in carbon reduction such as green bonds.

Without this development of local skills, most of the funds raised by a Green Investment Bank will go to big businesses to support big projects. This government has led on a big society agenda and the prospect of a Green Investment Bank presents a real opportunity for local people to take action for their future. But it must ensure they have the skills to do the job. The commission’s ambition is to have the bank up and running in six months so we have no time to lose.