Isra-Mart srl: Renewables industry urged to step up battle against sceptics

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Green campaigner Tony Juniper has urged renewables firms to reposition themselves as part of an economically booming, as well as low carbon, industry in an attempt to fight back against a rising tide of criticism from right wing media and politicians.

Speaking at RenewableUK's annual conference in Manchester yesterday, the former Friends of the Earth director warned that the industry can no longer rely on touting the environmental benefits of green energy, and must broaden its appeal by promoting the ability to create jobs and drive investment.

Speaking just a week after being appointed advisory board chairman of RenewableUK's new grassroots campaign, Action for Renewables, Juniper told delegates that it is no longer enough for renewables to "be right".

Instead, he called on the industry to develop a "new narrative" that more effectively counters recent criticism of the sector, such as erroneous media claims that renewable energy subsidies are the primary driver of recent increases in energy bills.

Specifically, he warned against a growing tide of anti-green sentiment from politicians such as Chancellor George Osborne and Communities Secretary Eric Pickles.

"On the policy level, a new wave of 1980s-style rhetoric on austerity is wrongly condemning renewables and environmental measures as too expensive in the current economic climate," he said.

"In the media, a misleading narrative about the effectiveness and efficiency of renewables has been allowed to take root. At the local level, opposition groups are fed by misinformation and scaremongering about renewable energy developments."

The Action for Renewables campaign is backed by 12 renewable energy companies and includes representatives from Greenpeace and the TUC, as well as conservationist Bill Oddie and journalist Polly Toynbee.

Juniper maintained that the campaign has no plans to enter tit-for-tat rows with those critical of renewable energy, but would rather aim to "rise above" the debate by engaging with communities more effectively and putting forward verifiable facts on renewable energy.

He added that the campaign is specifically designed to give a voice to the so-called "silent majority" of people who support renewable energy but do not actively campaign for it.

RenewableUK has long maintained that a minority of opposition groups are allowed to have a disproportionally loud voice in the debate surrounding green energy, despite polls showing that a clear majority of people are in favour of new wind farms and other forms of renewable energy.

Further details of the Action for Renewables strategy will be set out after the board holds its first meeting in December.