Ministers are calling for a "step-change" in the way homes are insulated The government will help pay to train 1,000 apprentices to insulate homes as part of its "green deal" energy plan.
Announcing the move, Chris Huhne will say a "big injection" of skills and cash is required if ambitious energy efficiency targets are to be realised.
The energy secretary will also outline deadlines for progress on electric car and carbon capture and storage schemes.
Environmental campaigners say there is a lack of clarity about how the UK will move to a low-carbon economy.
The Lib Dem minister will herald the apprenticeships scheme as evidence of how government and business should work together to create jobs and speed the transition to a more sustainable economy.
Under the plan, the government will cover the cost of training 16- to 18-year-old apprentices and will share the cost for over 19-year-olds with businesses which may include B&Q and British Gas.
It is envisaged that the apprentices will become experts in installing cavity and solid wall insulation in homes and more energy-efficient heating systems in business premises.
Friends of the Earth“Building a greener future must be at the heart of this month's Budget”
Ministers want to accelerate the green deal programme - under which homeowners will get their properties insulated at no upfront cost and reimburse firms carrying out the work from the savings they make on their energy bills.
Mr Huhne has said he hopes the programme will sustain 100,000 jobs within five years and that a "step-change" is needed to make energy-saving technology more widely available.
"To succeed, we will need a big injection of skills and investment," he will say. "These apprenticeships are a perfect example of how government and business can work together to a low-carbon future."
Amid criticism that government plans to achieve this are too vague, he will unveil a draft "carbon plan" containing specific deadlines in high priority areas such as power generation and transport.
The first contract to set up a demonstration carbon capture and storage project will be awarded by the end of the year, the Green Investment Bank will be operational by September 2012 and a "nationwide strategy" to promote installation of electric vehicle infrastructure will be in place by June.
"This carbon plan sets out a vision of a changed Britain," Mr Huhne will argue, "with more secure energy supply and more stable energy prices and benefiting from the jobs and growth a low carbon economy will bring."
The BBC's Environment Analyst Roger Harrabin said businesses had complained of a "policy vacuum" in energy policy amid uncertainty over oil price volatility, continuing support for technological development and changing consumer behaviour.
Friends of the Earth said development of a low-carbon economy must be a "top priority" for ministers.
"Building a greener future must be at the heart of this month's Budget," its Head of Climate Action Mike Childs said. "Thousands of new green jobs could be created if we invested in the UK's vast green energy potential and slashed energy waste.
"Continuing to put short-term political interests ahead of our long-term security will create an economic crisis that will dwarf our current financial problems."
Labour has accused ministers of "confusion and indecision" over planned incentives for people to replace fossil fuel energy systems with renewable ones, and on "feed-in tariffs" to reward small-scale residential energy production.
This article is from the BBC News website. � British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-politics-12671361
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