Carbon budget: GAMBICA wants tax credits

London – Graeme Philp, the chief executive of the trade body GAMBICA – a UK-based organisation which represents the instrumentation, control, automation and laboratory technology industries – has responded to the Government’s carbon budget by calling for a tax credit system to encourage investment in energy saving technology.

According to Philp, the Government should address carbon reduction in such a way that business in the UK remains on an equal footing with the rest of Europe.

“The carbon budget contained a lot of very sensible ’what’ but not enough ’how’,” said Philp. “Energy saving technology is Europe’s biggest energy resource. I believe that creating the right environment for businesses to learn about its implementation should be a prime carbon objective.

There are tried and tested forms of technology that can help the UK meet the Government’s re-aligned target of a 50% emissions cut averaged across the years 2023 to 2027, compared with 1990 levels, concluded continued .

“It’s my belief that a tax incentive, probably in the form of a highly targeted credit, would be an excellent way of encouraging participation from business and industry,” he said.

The goal should be a sustainable manufacturing economy that both reduces the UK’s carbon footprint and re-establishes its engineering industry on a global footing, the GAMBICA boss concluded.

Government he added, should work more closely with trade bodies who offer expertise in energy saving, particularly as much of the manufacturing sector currently operates using aging equipment.

“Encouraging the replacement of this equipment with energy efficient alternatives should be high on the Government’s agenda,” Philp concluded.