UK urged to ‘level up’ on green tech subsidies to match US and EU

theguardian.com:

The UK should “level up” its investment in green technologies to match the US and the EU, according to the chief executive of FTSE 100 packaging company DS Smith.

Speaking just days before the chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s spring budget, Miles Roberts said the UK government needed to give a clear signal of its long-term plans particularly for low-carbon power generation.

The US is spending $369bn (£310bn) on subsidies for green technologies under the Inflation Reduction Act, while the EU has been scrambling to come up with a response after some companies warned theywere considering prioritising America for investment.

“We need to make sure that the UK levels up to the US and Europe,” Roberts said. “That is a formidable package of support. We’re saying to the UK government: how do we make sure that we don’t fall behind?”

Uncertainty over the Conservative’s plans for green power generation was making it more difficult for DS Smith to invest in new facilities in the UK, Roberts said. Packaging companies are recognised by the government as energy-intensive industries because they require large amounts of heat to reform recycled cardboard into new boxes. Demand for packaging has risen inexorably in recent years thanks in part to the boom in online deliveries.

“Going forward we have to decarbonise, but what are your plans? Where are they?” he said of the government’s energy policy. “We come to the UK and say: ‘Can we just understand what is your policy?’”

Roberts also said the government should extend the “super deduction”, which is scheduled to end in April. The two-year tax break has allowed companies to offset 130% of investment spending on plant and machinery against profits.

“What can we do in two years?” Roberts said. “If they said: