Ed Milliband’s “unachievable and arbitrary” clean power target will undermine decarbonisation and raise people’s bills, Tory MPs have warned.
The Government aims to meet Britain’s electricity demand with energy from clean sources by 2030 – this was five years ahead of a now scrapped 2035 target the Conservatives had set.
Former energy security and net zero minister Graham Stuart MP said: “Britain needs ambitious, but realistic and affordable action on climate change. But Milliband’s unachievable, arbitrary 2030 clean power target will completely undermine decarbonisation and raise bills.
“Voters want to tackle climate change, but not at the expense of crippling Britain. No other country will follow our lead unless we can bring down our sky-high electricity prices. Our nation is burdened with crippling energy costs that are hurting households, ruining businesses, and damaging the drive to decarbonise. We have to marry climate action with economic success.
“The transition to clean energy is important for energy security and the climate, but Ed Miliband’s mad rush to 2030 is going to derail this important goal and cost bill-payers a fortune. With winter coming, he should spare families and pensioners from further pain, and scrap this unnecessary target.”
Labour came to power pledging “clean power by 2030”, with almost all of Britain’s electricity coming from clean sources such as renewables and nuclear by the end of the decade, as part of efforts to secure energy supplies, curb bills and tackle climate change.
But the agenda has faced significant push-back from the Conservatives and Reform UK, who have pledged to ditch “expensive” net zero policies and maximise extraction of oil and gas from the North Sea.
Tory MP Harriet Cross said: “The Clean Power 2030 target is a misjudged, counterproductive target that is burdening Britain while doing nothing to solve climate change. He will not hit this impossible timeline, but in trying to achieve it, Miliband will hike energy bills, see tens of thousands of North Sea oil and gas jobs put at risk, lose much needed current investment streams abroad and override the concerns of local communities.
“Only by dropping the 2030 target can we restore an affordable and credible approach to the energy transition.”
Elinor Bale, climate programme manager at the Conservative Environment added that tackling climate change is vital for the UK’s security and prosperity but must be grounded in credible, pragmatic solutions.
Mr Miliband labelled a dependence on fossil fuels as the UK’s energy “Achilles heel”.
Speaking at Energy UK’s annual conference on Tuesday, the Energy Secretary argued renewables were cheaper than new gas plants, and were the right choice to free the country from the impact of global fossil fuel markets and bring down “bills for good”.
Mr Miliband said: “I believe building clean energy is the right choice for the country because, despite the challenges, it’s the only route to a system that can reliably bring down bills for good and give us clean energy abundance.”
He also warned against overstating the public backlash against the green agenda, adding said that wholesale gas costs for households were 75% above their levels before Russia invaded Ukraine, pushing up bills.