Luciana Berger is a frequent speaker at this year’s conference and her creed is simple:
tax energy use to tackle climate change. But, journey along the Mersey, from the glamorous fringe events held on Liverpool’s well rejuvenated quays to the post-industrial wasteland
that lies beyond and you discover a different breed of Labour MP.
‘Is the green economy a threat to growth?’ asked Ellesmere MP, Andrew Miller at a seminar earlier this afternoon. Along with his panel – comprised of representatives from the chemical industry, the unions and of Michael Connarty, the MP for East Falkirk and a long-term advocate of the chemical industry – he reached the following conclusion: the current incarnation of the green economy is a threat to energy intensive manufacturing jobs.
Connarty and Steve Elliot of the Chemical Industry Association both said that government initiatives like the Climate Change Levy had made a positive impact on manufacturers, forcing them to be more energy efficient, in turn leading to greater investment in research and development.
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