There is something grimly funny about Ed Miliband flying back and forth, with an entourage of 470 delegates, to the climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, a country which relies on fossil fuels for 90 per cent of its exports. The Energy Secretary is, after all, the man who once instructed the country to buy EVs, while admitting live on television that he had not done so himself.
But Miliband’s hypocrisy is no laughing matter because his policies bring serious dangers to Britain. He aims to reach net zero by 2050 – meaning Britain’s total greenhouse gas emissions can never be greater than the emissions we remove from the atmosphere – and to decarbonise the grid by 2030. At Baku last week, he set a third ambition: to reduce carbon emissions by 81 per cent, based on 1990 levels, by 2035.An intelligent man, Miliband must know that what he says about these objectives, and the policies he pursues to achieve them, is dishonest. He claims the energy technologies he favours will reduce consumer bills. He insists “decarbonisation does not mean deindustrialisation”. And he says renewable energy will make us less dependent on foreign dictators and autocratic governments.
Before the election, Miliband claimed that his policies would cut household energy bills by £300 per year by 2030. But since then he has avoided repeating the promise, and it is clear why. The Office for Budget Responsibility says the country will pay more than £14 billion in environmental levies by 2029 to subsidise the renewable technologies backed by the Government, an increase of £3.4 billion from its last estimate in March. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has calculated that environmental levies will rise to £120 per household per year by 2029. More of this article - (The Telegraph) - link - more like this (Labour) - link - more like this (Baku) - link
