Engineering news
Labour leader Ed Miliband has outlined the opposition parties plans to build a strong green economy, including the creation of a central energy security board to develop a green energy strategy for the country.
Launching his general election platform in Manchester, Miliband said he aims to make Britain a “world leader in low carbon technologies over the next decade”, creating a million additional green jobs. This aim will be driven by “ambitious domestic carbon reduction targets”, including a legal target to remove the carbon from our electricity supply by 2030.
In a bid to tackle the current uncertainty for investors Labour stated it will create an industrial strategy for the green economy, with a timetable for the Green Investment Bank to be given additional powers so that it can invest in green businesses and technology.
The party has said it will also create an Energy Security Board to plan and deliver the energy mix we need, including renewables, nuclear, green gas, carbon capture and storage, and clean coal.
In its recent Green Paper on energy market reform Labour said: “Currently no single institution has responsibility for establishing what our future capacity needs are and developing a strategy for meeting them.
"This is divided up between DECC, Ofgem and the systems operator within the National Grid. Given the pressures on our existing generation capacity, there is an urgent need to create a 'guiding mind' that can coordinate the system operator and infrastructure planner with the strategic direction set by the Secretary of State on a long term basis."
For onshore unconventional oil and gas, Miliband said Labour will establish a "robust environmental and regulatory regime" before extraction can take place. To safeguard the future of the offshore oil and gas industry, it will provide a long-term strategy for the industry, including more certainty on tax rates and “making the most” of the potential for carbon storage.
The manifesto stressed that in particular “tackling climate change is an economic necessity and the most important thing we must do for our children, our grandchildren and future generations.”
Jennifer Webber, director of external affairs, RenewableUK, told PE: “We’re pleased to see confirmation of the importance of a 2030 decarbonisation target; a crucial measure which we’ve been advocating. A decarbonisation target enshrined in law would give wind farm developers and the supply chain the confidence to bring projects forward and invest in facilities and new staff, generating more clean power and creating UK jobs”.
Terry Scuoler, chief executive of EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, said: “Labour’s continued commitment to making the UK a world leader in low-carbon technologies is welcome but efforts to green our economy must embrace all sectors, including more traditional, energy-intensive industries. Labour should also avoid relying on domestic carbon reduction targets, which add to costs for these sectors and discourage investment in innovation."