Green groups have criticised the UK Labour Party’s decision to reduce its previous investment plan for the country’s renewable energy sector.
The party’s Green Prosperity Plan lays out plans to use the energy transition to boost the UK economy.
However, Labour stated that it will roll back its previous commitment to invest £28bn per year in renewable energy projects, including expanding offshore wind.
In an announcement, party leader Keir Starmer added that many of the party’s other green policies would remain in play despite the announcement. This includes creating a publicly owned energy company, which will receive an initial capitalisation of £8.3bn, to invest in and deliver projects alongside the private sector.
Greenpeace UK Co-executive Director Areeba Hamid criticised the rollback, stating: “Starmer’s caved like a house of cards in the wind. Labour’s diluted prosperity plan has gone from £28bn a year extra in vital green investment to less than £5bn.
“As well as scaling the investment back by around 80%, just a fraction will be spent on insulating homes, and not even a penny will be spent on public transport. These are two of the sectors in greatest need of new government investment to seize the opportunities of green growth, level up the country and lower bills.”
Mike Childs, Head of Policy at Friends of the Earth, said: “By seriously watering down its warm homes plan, the Labour Party has turned its back on the people who most urgently need these essential upgrades – the many millions of low-income households suffering from living in poorly insulated homes.
“Just like broader essential green investment, a national programme of insulation would bring with it countless benefits – not just for our climate but also for jobs, our wallets and our economy. The Labour Party must show how it intends to meet our legally binding climate targets and international climate commitments with such limited investment, because right now it looks like they have torpedoed the chance of meeting these goals.”
Dr Nina Skorupska, CEO of the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology, noted: “While we need to see more details, it is of course disappointing to see the dropping of Labour’s landmark spending pledge, but we are at least encouraged that the ambition remains in place to tackle our pressing environmental problems and associated societal and economic costs of these.
“In the longer term, the only way out of the energy crisis and high costs associated with this, is ending our reliance on volatile imported fossil fuels by moving to renewables and clean technologies.”
Despite the rollback of the £28bn per year target, RenewableUK said that Labour’s plan can deliver thousands of jobs and industrial growth. However, it warned that the country needs a stable business environment for growth.
The group’s Chief Executive Dan McGrail said: “It’s encouraging that the Labour Party remains clear, publicly and privately, about its continued commitment to develop renewable energy as a means of driving economic growth across the UK.
“Crucially, in their updated plan, they are maintaining their pledges to providing incentives for clean energy manufacturing to build up new supply chains, including investment in ports to turn them into industrial hubs for offshore wind.
“We should acknowledge that the bulk of funding for the energy transition is coming, and will come, from the private sector, but a stable and predictable business environment is critical in mobilising high levels of private investment. With the right policy framework in place, the renewable energy industry stands ready to invest billions in the UK, creating new jobs, increasing energy security and delivering low-cost electricity for billpayers.”