Labour would create carbon-neutral energy system by 2030s

The Labour Party is set to outline its fast-track climate strategy, with plans to create a carbon-neutral energy system by the 2030s, including enough new solar panels to cover 22,000 football pitches.

Having adopting plans to work towards a net-zero carbon economy two decades ahead of the government’s legally binding 2050 target, the plan includes 30 recommendations to tackle emissions from the energy system, including home energy efficiency upgrades such as insulation and double glazing that will focus first on damp homes and areas suffering fuel poverty.

A recent report from the Labour Party estimates that the investment in clean electricity and home efficiency projects could create 850,000 new skilled jobs in the green industry and increase household incomes by two per cent by boosting employment, capital investment and labour productivity.

The 30 by 2030 report identifies four goals to transform the UK’s energy supply and use: reducing energy waste in buildings and industry; decarbonising heat; boosting renewable and low carbon electricity generation and balancing the UK’s supply and demand.

Rebecca Long Bailey, Labour’s Shadow Business and Energy Secretary, said:  “This report makes a major contribution to Labour’s plans to kickstart a Green Industrial Revolution. The Labour Party has among the most ambitious climate targets in the world and is the only party turning their targets into detailed, credible plans to tackle the climate and environmental crisis.

“Inaction on climate by Conservative and Lib-Dem Coalition Governments has led to a lost decade in the race to cut emissions from our energy system. The recommendations in this report could put the UK on track for a zero-carbon energy system during the 2030’s – but only if rapid progress is made early on. The next five years are therefore crucial. We are working with trade unions to ensure that the changes to our energy system will be planned democratically, with the interests of workers and local communities at the heart of the transition.”