Green energy is not a ‘climate luxury’ it’s ‘energy bills necessity’, Ed Miliband tells LBC
29 June 2023, 06:54 | Updated: 29 June 2023, 07:01
Drive for green energy is not some ‘climate luxury’ it’s ‘energy bills necessity’ says Ed Mililband
Climate Change Shadow Secretary Ed Miliband has said the government has not learnt from the war in Ukraine.
Speaking on Tonight with Andrew Marr, Labour's Ed Miliband said our reliance on fossil fuels means we are "subject to the grip of the Putin’s of the world" because they "manipulate the energy market".
Andrew Marr asked the Shadow Secretary "why" the UK is falling behind on net zero targets, to which Mr Miliband replied: "Two reasons I think. One, the government hasn't learnt the fundamental lessons of the last 18 months, which is so long as we are dependent on fossil fuels we are subject to the grip of the Putins of the world and the Petro states because they manipulate that market.
"And therefore the drive for green energy is not some climate luxury it's actually an energy bills necessity."
His second reason was that the Conservative government "doesn't believe in investing".
"When you see what Biden is doing in the US," he started, "there's this global race for jobs and the [Climate Change] committee points out that we are losing this global race."
"Because we are not investing in hydrogen and carbon capture and off-shore wind and all of those things - and I say a Labour government would put those two things right."
President Biden announced a huge investment into green energy in 2022, offering $400 billion in tax credits and other incentives to renewable industries, however, the UK is yet to follow in the USA's footsteps.
Grant Shapps, the current Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero has said the UK doesn't need to take similar action as we are already "decades ahead" in terms of renewable energy.
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The conversation comes after the Climate Change Committee released a report claiming the government is missing climate targets on nearly every front.
Ed Miliband, who set up the committee 15 years ago, dubbed the report "devastating". "This is definitely the most damning report I have seen", he told Andrew.
Mr Miliband said that Labour is very clear that they would not allow any new fossil fuel licences if they were to win the next election.
