The most senior voice of British business has blasted the government’s performance on the “green economy”, warning that UK companies will lose out on hundreds of billions of pounds in opportunities for overseas exports if ministers do not reverse direction.

John Cridland, director general of the CBI, delivered a scathing attack on government moves since the election that have weakened green policies and delivered “mixed messages” to companies seeking to capitalise on the UK’s previous prowess on green business.

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Cridland will tell a major business conference on climate change on Tuesday: “Today’s investors are more uncertain about the UK’s low-carbon future. From the roll-back of renewables to the mixed messages on energy efficiency, these changes [by the government since coming to power] send a worrying signal about the UK as a place for low-carbon investment.”

Citing the export opportunities of the green economy, he made clear that the lost opportunities would amount to hundreds of billions in overseas sales.

The green economy is a new “emerging market”, comparable to the existing emerging economies of China and India, according to the business leader, but the UK’s previous success in capitalising on such opportunities is at risk: “Over many years, the UK has built up real credibility on climate leadership and low-carbon investment. This is hard won, but easily lost.”

Since coming to power, the Conservatives have aimed a series of blows at the green economy, including: slashing support for solar power; effectively ending the building of new onshore wind farms; scrapping the flagship “green deal” insulation scheme, with no replacement; and part-privatising the Green Investment Bank. There has also been a stream of rhetoric from senior ministers that has attacked green aims, including pledges that the UK would hang back on cutting emissions, compared with other major economies.

Cridland said the UK’s green economy alone was already worth £120bn a year, and that between 2010 and 2013, the green economy grew at more than 7% a year, compared with less than 2% a year for the UK economy as a whole.

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Ministers are likely to be stung by this attack from an organisation – the UK’s biggest for businesses – that they normally like to view as an ally. Conservative governments have long tended to enjoy broad support from the CBI, particularly on issues such as taxation and spending, and have frequently shared conference platforms and missions to promote UK companies abroad.

Cridland’s stark message comes after the UK tumbled from the long-running chart published by Ernst & Young showing how attractive each country is for renewable energy investment. Britain formerly led the index, and has consistently been rated one of the most attractive countries for clean energy, until now.

In a further blow to the Conservatives, Cridland also stood up strongly for the Climate Change Act, the 2008 legislation that requires governments to commit to climate targets beyond their own term – the first such legislation in the world, and calculated to ensure that emissions-cutting goals would endure beyond five-year electoral terms. The act has come under threat with some Tory backbenchers and supporters openly calling for its repeal, while ministerial support for it has been lukewarm.

Cridland said: “The Climate Change Act is a great example of how, by showing leadership in efforts for a global solution on climate change, the government helped give business the certainty they need to invest.”

But ministers insist that the UK will support a strong agreement at crucial UN climate talks in Paris in December, but many observers and participants are dismissive of those claims, saying that the UK has lost the authority it once used to encourage developing countries to sign up to a global pact.

Cridland said that an international agreement, supported by the UK, was essential to ensure that businesses could fulfil their potential in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. “We need all countries to pull in the same direction at Paris to give companies the certainty and confidence they need to invest more,” he said. This would enable a level playing field that should assuage fears of some countries gaining a competitive advantage by stalling on emissions cuts, he said.

Businesses would be behind the government in securing a strong climate deal at Paris, he promised.

Matthew Spencer, director of the Green Alliance thinktank, which convened Tuesday’s business and climate change conference in London, said there were many opportunities for the UK in creating a bigger market for low-carbon goods and services around the world, but that it would require stronger action from the government at a domestic level to capitalise on these.

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He said: “[The UK is] ahead of the world in bringing down the cost of offshore wind, phasing out the use of coal, and we have an enviable level of agreement between business and NGOs about the need to maintain the UK’s low-carbon momentum. To build on these advantages, the government needs to clear up the confusion about what it is trying to achieve for the UK’s energy system, ahead of the Paris conference.”



The Department of Energy and Climate Change said: “We are pushing for a strong global deal in Paris that creates a level playing field for business and drives innovation. Our priorities are to reduce emissions in the most cost-effective way and also keeping bills as low as possible for hardworking families and businesses. Government support has already driven down the cost of renewable energy significantly, helping technologies to stand on their own two feet.”