UK's green goods and services market grew 4.7% in 2011 despite flat-lining overall economy
Wed 23 May 2012
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The UK's green industries defied slow progress in the rest of the economy by recording a 4.7 per cent increase to £122bn in 2011 compared with the previous year. New government figures show that the low carbon economy now employs almost one million people.
According to a new report released by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and reported by The Guardian, the UK comfortably outperformed the worldwide Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services (LCEGS) market, which expanded by 3.7 per cent to £3.3tr.
Low carbon sales activities accounted from £1.6tr of this, around 48 per cent, with renewable energy worth £1tr, and environmental goods and services accounting for £700bn.
The report shows that the UK has secured a 3.7 per cent share of the global market and has also retained its place as the sixth largest LCEGS sector in the world, behind the US with £645bn, China on £435bn, Japan with £205bn, India at just under £205bn, and Germany at £140bn.
Alternative fuels, building technologies, and wind energy formed the three largest components of the UK's LCEGS sector, although carbon finance, wind, wave and tidal, and carbon capture and storage saw the highest year-on-year increases.
This strong performance helped the UK to an LCEGS export surplus of £5bn. Exports grew just under four per cent to £11.8bn and dwarfed the £6.8bn of imports, which showed a smaller increase of 3.1 per cent.
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