Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband speaking at the National Growth Debate at the Institute of Directors in London | Alamy
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Ed Miliband has said he will “double down, not back down” on the government’s clean energy mission in the face of critics calling on him to change course.
The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero said the UK must go “faster” in its shift away from fossil fuels and that there was “not a moment to waste”.
The Labour government has faced calls to rethink its energy policy in response to the global energy crisis triggered by the war in Iran.
The conflict, initiated by US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February, has resulted in severe disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane responsible for significant volumes of world gas and oil. Tehran has threatened to attack ships trying to pass through, leading to a sharp fall in maritime traffic.
Miliband has been urged by the Conservatives and Reform UK to restart drilling for gas and oil in the North Sea as a way of protecting the country’s energy supplies from shortages.
Speaking at an event in London hosted by the Good Growth Foundation think tank on Tuesday, Miliband said that “the era of fossil fuel security is over.”
“We have not a moment to waste, and that’s why we’ll double down, not back down on our mission for clean energy,” the Labour cabinet minister said, adding: “Clean energy is now the only route to financial security, energy security, and indeed, national security.”
The government has announced a package of measures aimed at protecting Britain from the impact of fossil fuel shortages, including expanding the use of solar on public land, breaking the link between gas and energy policies, and taking further action to encourage households to switch to solar panels and electric vehicles (EVs).
Ministers are also working on a targeted scheme to protect some households from rising energy bills.
Ofgem’s current price cap, which sets the maximum amount suppliers can charge households for energy, expires in July, when average bills are expected to rise sharply due to the war in Iran.
Speaking this morning, Miliband accused those who want the government to dilute its clean energy policy of being “a coalition of naysayers and defeatists”.
“No matter what some people would have us believe, solar panels, heat pumps and EVs are not woke, or a left-wing conspiracy, or even a Marxist plot. They’re actually common sense.”
He added that it was a “myth” to say that gas and oil extraction from the North Sea would help cut domestic energy bills, stressing that prices are set on international markets.
However, he did not rule out approving further drilling at the Jackdaw and Rosebank sites off the coast of northwest Scotland.
Work to begin extracting oil and gas at these sites was delayed after judges ruled that licenses were granted unlawfully, and now Miliband is under pressure from business groups and some Labour MPs to greenlight the projects.
“I do not agree with those who say we should turn off the taps overnight, but nor do I agree with those who suggest that somehow drilling every last drop will take a penny off bills or give us energy security,” he said.
“I will not betray the future generations of this country by acting on the basis of myth, falsehood and misinformation.”
