Labour leader Keir Starmer detailed plans for a publicly-owned investment vehicle, called Great British Energy, to spearhead funding for green energy projects.. Photo: ANDY BUCHANAN / AFPThe UK's Labour opposition launched its flagship clean energy policy Friday, bidding to ease the country's cost-of-living crisis and contrast the party with the ruling Conservatives in the looming general election.
The new Scotland-based entity, which he vowed to create"very quickly" if the party wins power on July 4, will try to reduce household energy bills, create jobs and drive the UK's energy transition towards net zero. "We're not turning off the taps, we're not revoking the licences, and oil and gas is part of the mix for decades to come," he said at an event in Greenock, near Glasgow.
The UK has vowed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, but experts have warned of"worryingly slow" recent progress.Labour's own commitment to the benchmark has been doubted after Starmer ditched a pledge to spend £28 billion a year on green infrastructure.