Eco entrepreneur Dale Vince has outlined his vision to end the use of fossil fuels and tackle the climate crisis. The Ecotricity founder urged the Government to use the three “big levers” of taxes, subsidies and regulations to end our environmental problems.
In his new book Manifesto, he said: “The green industrial revolution gives us an opportunity to rebalance. We need a new approach to tax to go with it.
“We need to rapidly transition away from fossil support towards renewable support and ultimately to zero fossil support.
“The net cost of this is nothing – it’s a transfer of spending from the bad stuff to the good stuff.”
There is a 20 percent VAT on solar panels for home use, but five percent for use of coal.
Dale, 61, called this an “anomaly that needs correcting”.
He called for green energy and energy efficiency equipment to be zero rated for at least VAT.
Dale said this will encourage and enable the tackling of issues in people’s homes “at the point of consumption”.
He added: “Reshaping the market by changing taxes, subsidies and regulations will enable us to move rapidly to end fossil fuel use in this sector. In fact, it’s all we need.”
The Express’s Green Britain Needs You campaign urged the Government to create a “zero for zero” policy to boost the tax system by scrapping VAT on low or zero-carbon products.
Manifesto is Dale’s clarion call for people to join the battle for green Britain. The eco-warrior sets out what needs to be achieved across energy, transport and food to help decarbonise the sectors.
Throughout the book, it is clear Dale wants to show people that they do not need to “accept what we have”.
Readers will see how he became chairman of Forest Green Rovers, transforming the side into the world’s greenest football club, which serves players and fans vegan food.
The Gloucestershire-based squad’s home ground of the New Lawn also includes solar panels, electric car charging points, water recycling and an electric lawnmower.
Dale played a role in the electric car revolution with the creation of an electric highway, as well as producing 100 percent plant-based burgers through vegan food company The Devil’s Kitchen.
One of his more recent projects is called Sky Diamond, which involves producing conflict-free environmentally friendly diamonds using renewable energy.
Dale said: “We’ve just found different ways to do everything. So I’m hoping that the book will show people that we don’t have to accept what we have, what we’re born into and what we take to be normal. We can basically do anything we want.”
The book also takes aim at tax regulations which he said are barriers to green investments.
Dale added: “The whole tax and subsidies system supports the old way of doing things.
“We put more money into the North Sea than we get back out in tax, for example, and wind and sun in particular need no public money, they just need to be freed up under the planning system.
“It’s really quite bizarre, we couldn’t be holding ourselves back any more effectively than we currently are.”
- Dale Vince’s Manifesto: The Battle for Green Britain is available now. Find it on expressbookshop.com.
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