Labour’s botched retreat from their commitments to a massive investment in reducing climate emissions looks doubly bad given its timing.
First, in 2021 there was the pledge to invest £28 billion a year in measures to combat climate change. Then, there might not be enough money so it might only reach £28bn towards the end of a Labour government. Only a couple of weeks ago Sir Keir Starmer defended the promised £28bn of investment while shadow ministers refused to confirm it was still party policy. Finally, Starmer went on TV to say that there wasn’t enough money for the £28 billion but they were still serious about climate change. The new figure is less than £15bn. He suggested most initiatives would still go ahead but the programme to insulate people’s homes would be scaled back.
Unfortunately for them, Labour chose the day that scientists confirmed that 2023’s global temperatures averaged more than the 1.5°C danger threshold. Shortly afterwards proposals emerged in the European Union to toughen their target for 2040 to an impressive 90% reduction in emissions.
With the Tories going backwards on their own climate commitments, including the recent rumour that they will abandon plans to incentivise manufacturers to supply heat pumps rather than gas boilers in the future, Labour had been looking like the champions on climate change that the country so clearly needs.
With a commanding lead in the polls, climate change high on the public agenda and spending on climate action likely to benefit the poor more than the rich it is hard to see how Labour came to conclude that watering down their ambition could possibly be a good idea.
Cutting back on fitting insulation and changing heating systems for zero carbon ones is particularly puzzling. Making homes more efficient has multiple benefits. It is one of the quickest ways to reduce emissions because it slashes the use of natural gas. It improves the lives of many of the poorest people in society, especially those in rented accommodation, making their homes cheaper to keep warm and healthier to live in. It creates new energy sector jobs to replace those that will be going in the oil and gas sector.
A recent study found that energy bills could have been £70 billion lower over the last decade if the UK Government had followed through on its original plans for net-zero measures.
Yet Labour now plan to retrofit only 5 million of the 26 million homes in England and Wales rather than the original commitment for 19 million homes. The UK is already off track for its 2030 climate target and this reduction in ambition could guarantee that the target is missed. Fortunately the Scottish Government decides its own priorities on retrofitting homes but the reduced UK budget will have an impact here too.
The UK needs bold leadership to get back on track on climate targets, to help people with their energy bills, to reduce our dependence on the volatile prices of oil and gas and to create new green energy jobs. Instead Labour have retreated from the big promise they have been promoting to voters for more than two years, leaving their credibility on climate change seriously damaged.
A version of this article appeared in the Scotsman newspaper on the 14th February 2024.