Stephen Lovegrove is named as the new head of the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC), after David Cameron controversially intervened in the appointment process.
Lovegrove supercedes the candidacy of the chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), David Kennedy, who had been endorsed by an interview panel of senior civil servants and Lib Dem Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey. This is despite Lovegrove’s main experiences being in mergers and acquisitions, rather than climate and energy policy.
Cameron justified the move stating that as DECC is now focused on the implementation of a series of policies such as the Energy Bill and the Green Deal, that are designed to accelerate private-sector investment in clean technologies, he was keen to see someone with more corporate experience appointed to the role.
The move has generated accusations the Prime Minister was seeking to appease anti-green backbenchers in his own party by blocking the appointment of a senior civil servant who has repeatedly called for more ambitious action on climate change through his role at the CCC.
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