Ahead of the Spring Statement, Capitas Finance called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to connect the Government’s budgetary measures with the UK’s legally binding net zero target.
Whilst there was little in the way of announcements made by Rishi Sunak that would immediately bolster the green economy, the UK’s leading independent energy finance specialist says it was what wasn’t said, as opposed to what was said, in the Spring Statement that was interesting.
Responding to the Spring Statement, Capitas Finance CEO Darren Riva commented: “Given the already challenging business environment, which has been compounded by increasing energy costs, we are disappointed that the Chancellor didn’t use the Spring Statement to offer up further support for carbon conscious businesses.
“Despite this, we do feel that Rishi Sunak’s commentary offered up a strong statement of intent when it comes to improving energy efficiency and accelerating decarbonisation. Although the impact will only be felt by homeowners (and not the commercial sector) at present, in scrapping VAT for energy saving measures such as insulation, solar panels and heat pumps, it is a step in the right direction.
“As we know only too well, businesses are often put off making sustainable changes due to lack of access to investment. It is vital steps are taken to change this. Whilst no firm announcements were made in the Spring Statement, it does appear that there is a commitment from the Government to cut tax rates on business investment, and we look forward to hearing more detail on this in the Autumn Budget. We believe incentives such as the removal of VAT on a range of clean technologies such as energy storage and the extension of the Super-deduction tax to include the Energy Technology list would drive the right behaviours, encouraging more businesses to invest in low carbon solutions therefore improving energy resiliency and accelerating their decarbonisation journey.
“Until further incentives are announced, as a specialist energy solutions finance company, we will continue working with customers and partners to implement low carbon technologies and solutions that help them operate sustainably and responsibly as we continue on the path to net zero.”
Capitas Finance specialises in financing low carbon energy solutions and on-site generation for carbon-conscious businesses and public sector organisations. Our products and services are designed to help you accelerate the path to decarbonisation, reduce energy bills and reduce reliance on the grid. To find out how Capitas can work with you, drop us a line here.
