Britain to create first low-carbon economic area

(Xinhua) -- The British government announced plans on Monday to create the first low carbon economic area in the northeastern region, the Downing Street No. 10 said.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Business Secretary Peter Mandelson are visiting a Nissan factory in Sunderland, a borough of northeast England Monday morning, where they will explain details of how the area will begin to specialize in making low carbon vehicles, said the Downing Street.

The British government issued the low carbon industrial strategy last week to help create jobs and promote economic growth.

The strategy also set out the first investments from the 405 million pounds (648 million U.S. dollars) for low carbon industries and advanced green manufacturing announced at the 2009 budget.

According to a report issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the British economy will shrink by 4.2 percent in 2009 and will only recover to a weak gain of 0.2 percent next year.

The British people also remained worried about unemployment as the Office for National Statistics reported last week that the unemployment rate in Britain has hit 7.6 percent, the highest since January 1997.

Mandelson said the low-carbon strategy builds on the New Industry, New Jobs approach, outlining the strategic role the British government will play alongside the private sector, to make the most of the potential benefits for innovation, growth and job creation in Britain.

It is estimated that low carbon and environmental goods and services are already worth 3 trillion pounds (4.8 trillion dollars) in the global economy, and employ near 900,000 directly and through the supply chain in Britain.

"With the sector set to grow by over 4 percent annually over the next six years, we must do all we can to support British businesses and workers in benefiting," Mandelson said.