It will do nothing to reduce household bills but will do everything to boost the profits of the oil and gas companies.
The bleak outlook presented at COP28 demanded an urgent transition away from these hydrocarbons.
The pace of climate erosion is stark. The icecap is melting at a great pace, the sea levels are rising, the adverse weather events are becoming more frequent and our planet is destabilising. The Tories know this but they continue to ignore the warnings.
Households are paying the price with the energy price caps set at a staggering £1,928 per year.
The cost of heating food and your home is now a major outlay. For those on pre-payment meters, it must be paid up front. This is why we need an urgent transition, and why Labour will be investing in homes and energy.
The best way we can protect people is to ensure that their homes are energy efficient. Top of our priorities is to retrofit 19 million homes over the next decade. Much of Britain’s housing stock is old and draughty. We lose so much energy through roofs, doors, windows and walls. Energy efficient homes reduce costs and energy usage; both vital.
Our green energy sprint will also pivot away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Labour’s ‘Green Prosperity Plan’ will cut bills by £1,400 a year, save businesses £53bn in energy bills up to 2030 and create one million good quality green collar jobs. BioYorkshire will play a crucial role in this, creating jobs and opportunities in York.
The reliance of the UK energy supply on global markets has exposed consumers to the challenges of global pressures, like the war in Ukraine, or the volatility of the global markets. Three million have fallen into fuel poverty. In rebuilding our energy sector, the UK will not only need to address its own supply and cost pressures but be able to use our science base to inform world-leading industries.
The centrepiece of Labour’s plan is to establish GB Energy, a new publicly-owned clean generation company, to coordinate the supply of low-carbon energy. By 2030, the UK will be the first major country in the world to run on 100 per cent clean and cheap power. Residents and businesses will notice the difference. To scale up, we will invest, but our investment plans will ultimately be to save- save costs and save our planet. Over the course of the next Parliament, we will build to put £28bn aside a year for this transition.
Our 2030 mission will see offshore wind quadruple, solar power triple and onshore wind double, and investment in new technologies such as hydrogen. Meanwhile our ambitious transport strategy to see people move onto public transport – not least as we re-nationalise the railways and invest in new clean buses – will address the biggest challenge of our age, and get back on track to keep 1.5’C alive.
We will further encourage local energy production, enabling communities to benefit from harnessing their own energy and reaping the rewards for doing so.
Last week I visited one of York’s developments, The Cocoa Works, at the old Rowntree site. Every home built will be fully electric, taking gas off the site, and also thoroughly insulated. – and not just high value homes. A third will be affordable, including equity shared homes, enabling more to access green housing
As York’s Labour council focuses on delivering a new generation of homes, I know it is also ambitious to ensure that they are energy efficient, fit for the future.
So while the Tories obsess about oil and gas, Labour will turn our focus to delivering a new energy ambition, fit for your future and that of our planet too.
Rachael Maskell is the Labour MP for York Central
