Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho is sounding the alarm over Labour’s “dangerous” Net Zero policies, warning they will lead to a heavy reliance on Chinese materials, endangering U.K. energy security and raising consumer costs. The Telegraph has the story.
Claire Coutinho said Labour’s pledge to convert Britain to “clean power” by 2030 – five years earlier than the Conservatives – would leave the U.K. “over-reliant” on Chinese-made metals, cables and batteries, just as Europe was weaning itself off Russian oil and gas. …
To achieve its target of “clean power” by 2030, Labour has pledged to quadruple offshore wind generation, triple the amount of energy coming from solar panels and double the country’s onshore wind capacity.
However, Sir Keir scrapped a £28 billion green spending pledge that was intended to help achieve the target, following Conservative claims that it would lead to higher taxes and borrowing.
A report published last week found that the pledge would require more than £15.5 billion additional investment per year until the start of the next decade.
Ms. Coutinho said: “At the moment there is one global dominant player when it comes to things like critical minerals or batteries and that’s China.
“So if you’re saying that we are going to have this unfeasible target, which no other major economy would have, what you’re ultimately sending out to the world is that we’re willing to pay whatever price you will put to us, which will see costs implode, you also don’t have time for the supply chains here to develop, which means you’ll be reliant on China.” …
The costs involved in meeting the target would “mean… higher taxes for people, hiking up people’s bills and essentially not being sure that we can keep the lights on”, Ms. Coutinho claimed, adding that the plan would mean “send[ing] the money to China”.
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