The green investment bank: neither particularly green, nor a bank Caroline Lucas Environment guardian.co.uk
A green investment bank: what's not to like? Banks might not be flavour of the month, but if they invest in the right things, that's good. And there are any number of projects that would benefit the environment, yet struggle to raise backing from conventional financial institutions. Many environmental campaigners had been calling for a green bank for years. So this is an initiative we can welcome, right?
Well, politics is a funny world. Even when you think they've listened, and the words they use are just the ones you'd have chosen yourself, it's always best to check the small print. And with the coalition's version of a green investment bank, testing each word is an education in sophistry...
Views about our real wealth - the natural and social world, the source of our resources and the basis of our lives - and how it can and should be sustained for generations.