𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Ed Miliband has been accused of “forcing through” a new net zero target that will make Britons “weaker and poorer”. The Government has signed up to a legal target to cut the UK’s planet-heating emissions by 87% by 2040, the Energy Secretary announced on Tuesday. But Tories said the announcement came in the “dying days” of the Labour government.

The reduction in greenhouse gases on 1990 levels – on the way to cutting climate pollution to zero overall by 2050, known as “net zero” – is in line with official advice from the Government’s independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) advisers. But Claire Coutinho MP, Shadow Energy Secretary, said: “The fact that in the dying days of this Labour government they will attempt to force through a new Net Zero target that will make us weaker, poorer and send everyone’s energy bills even higher shows that they are not putting the national interest first.

“We have had a former Prime Minister and current leadership contender say we need to look again at what our Net Zero targets are doing to the economy and we need to drill in the North Sea. The best thing for our economy, for growth, and for cutting emissions, is to make electricity cheap.”

The Government’s commitment to the “seventh carbon budget” emissions target for the period 2038 to 2042 comes amid increasing political division over climate action, with Reform UK and the Tories promising to ditch net zero policies and back oil and gas drilling.

Energy Secretary Mr Miliband said the drive for clean homegrown power was the “only way” to protect family and business finances, as he accused opponents of sticking their heads in the sand about climate breakdown and its impact on future generations.

The CCC has said meeting the target will require households to install heat pumps instead of new boilers, switch to electric cars and eat less meat and dairy but families could save hundreds of pounds a year by mid century in the shift away from fossil fuels.

Mr Miliband said: “As Britain faces the second fossil fuel shock of the decade, the only way to protect family and business finances is to drive for clean homegrown power that we control.

“What has been achieved so far by businesses and communities across the country is a great British success story – cutting costs by upgrading homes, backing British businesses, supporting one million good jobs according to new analysis from CBI Economics, and protecting our beautiful countryside.

“Some people want to stick their heads in the sand and let our children face the consequences of climate breakdown – but this government believes in the timeless British value of protecting our country for generations to come.”