Labor is ready to launch GB Energy within days if it wins the election

Labor is ready to launch its public company Great British Energy within days if it wins the election, suggests Ed Miliband.

In an interview with ANDthe former Labor leader said the party wanted to move forward “very, very quickly” with its plans for the energy company, which it promised would help cut bills in the next parliament by investing in green energy.

Miliband suggested that a top shadow leadership team had already been formed to run GB Energy.

The shadow Net Zero secretary said the reductions in household energy costs would be “staggering” as a result of Labour’s plan to move to 100% clean energy by 2030 – five years earlier than the Tories’ clean energy promise.

GB Energy will work by co-investing in clean energy with industry giants, Labor has said, as it commits £8.3 billion to fund the initiative in the next parliament.

The party’s aim is to create 650,000 jobs in the renewable technology industry in the UK – including Scotland, where GB Energy will be based.

“If we win the election, we will deliver the most ambitious climate and energy agenda in the history of the UK,” Miliband said.

But he recognized the challenges Labor may face in achieving the party’s goal of a 100% clean energy grid by 2030 – a position that goes much further than those set out in previous Labor manifestos.

In 2019, the party pledged to “put the UK on track to a net-zero energy system by the 2030s – and accelerate action where credible pathways can be found.”

The target is much more ambitious than in France, which plans to move to 58% by the same date. clean energy, and in Germany, which is to reach 80 percent. Both countries also plan to spend significantly more public money than the UK to achieve these targets.

However, Labor’s promises do not differ significantly from the government’s commitments, which have set a target for low-carbon electricity generation of 95% by 2030 and achieving 100% by 2035 “subject to security of supply”.

Miliband admitted the UK would need to seek external investment to meet its 100% clean energy target by 2030, claiming the “private sector is desperate to invest here”.

What is clean energy?

Clean energy is energy produced from renewable sources that, when used, produces little or no greenhouse gas emissions.

Examples are solar and wind energy, and hydropower, which uses the natural flow of moving water to generate electricity.

Labour’s plans were given a boost last month after they were endorsed by Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s former chief scientific adviser who stepped down last year.

He was also quoted in the party’s manifesto this week, stating: “A national clean energy mission by 2030 is achievable and should be a priority.

“We desperately need to end the era of high energy bills, excessive carbon emissions and energy insecurity by accelerating the transition to clean, home-grown energy. The UK can lead on this by treating this mission like a vaccine challenge.”

Sir Patrick appeared to criticize the Conservatives’ decision to backtrack on net zero commitments, adding: “If we choose to move slowly, others will provide the answers and ultimately we will end up buying these solutions, not selling them.”

Writing for Timeswarned that the race to net zero should be treated with the same urgency as the search for a Covid-19 vaccine, adding that Labor’s pledge was achievable and could be “delivered quickly”.

“I am often asked which of the UK’s many pressing public policy challenges require a vaccine-like approach,” he said.

“I believe one such priority is the urgent need to end the era of excessive greenhouse gas emissions, high energy bills and energy insecurity by accelerating the transition to clean, home-grown, net-zero energy.

“With determined effort using technologies currently available and those near implementation, a clean energy system by 2030 is possible.”

I am talking with ANDMiliband also praised Conservative figures such as Chris Skidmore and Alok Sharma for their support for the net zero agenda.

He admitted that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson was “better than his successors” on this issue because he understood the importance of the climate for society.

“One of the reasons the Tory retreat from net zero has not worked is that the British people are simply not there,” Miliband added.

The poll found that politicians are at odds with voters on net zero emissions and energy policy, with almost two-thirds of the public believing that cutting fossil fuels and increasing the share of renewable energy is the best way to ensure the UK’s energy security.