Ed Miliband, the Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero, outlined that the Labour Party will tackle the “four horsemen of the apocalypse” for the UK’s energy transition: grid delays, planning delays, supply chain problems and the skills gap.
Speaking at Innovation Zero in London today (1 May), the Labour politician emphasised the importance of solving these four primary pillars to ensure the UK can achieve a net zero grid by 2030, one of the party’s primary policies.
Indeed, Miliband expressed that the 2030 target is Labour’s “North star” and will become one of its focuses should it win the general election later this year. For this to be achieved, Miliband stated that “we must work together”, with collaboration set to be a vital cog in the party’s ambition.
Great British Energy and the potential of floating offshore wind
One of the primary ways in which Labour plans to achieve this goal and bolster collaboration in the energy space is via the creation of a new publicly owned energy company dubbed Great British Energy.
The creation of the new entity would provide a foothold in expanding support for the energy transition. One way it would do this is by unlocking further investment in net zero.
He said: “Great British Energy will partner with the private sector to unlock technologies like floating offshore wind. We will see further investment in ports for infrastructure and drive the biggest investment in home decarbonisation this country has ever seen.
“If Labour is in power, this will be a whole government effort involving every department.”
This is not the first time Labour has backed floating offshore wind. On 26 March, it stated that the UK must lead by example and become a “world leader” in the technology.
According to Labour’s policies, Great British Energy would aim to invest in clean energy across the country, focusing on floating offshore wind technology. This, of course, is not just down to the technology but also the development of port infrastructure and the specialised jobs needed to build and maintain the technology.
Miliband also noted the economic opportunity the energy transition could present. “Net zero is the greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century. Uncertainty is the enemy of investment, and we offer consistency in a mission. There will be no more arbitrary policy decisions,” he said.
As previously reported by Current± last year, the UK Business Council for Sustainable Development stated in a report that the UK has a “once-in-a-generation economic opportunity” to unlock £70 billion by becoming a “sustainability superpower”.
