For the first time since the general election, one of the Eds is giving a major speech on climate change.
Tomorrow, it will be Ed Balls, rather than the former climate change minister, who will break the silence, but this is still important.
It seems even more significant that he will be doing it framed around infrastructure investment and in discussion with the FT’s Martin Wolf.
I wrote a few months ago that Labour should use the business community and infrastructure investment to take on the Tories on climate change.
For three years campaigners have had to bang the drum on the environment alone without the support of Westminster or the media. I hope that Ed Balls’ speech will be part of a change of attitude within Labour and not just lip service.
Green Alliance, who are hosting the discussion, say getting to a low carbon future is worth £200 billion of our planned infrastructure. We’ll have more of the data around this tomorrow.
But the point is that ‘green investment’ is an easy way, and the right way, for Ed Miliband and Balls to point out how weak (in standing up to backbenchers) and unwilling to invest the Tories are.
Cameron knows he’s wrong on the issue – that’s why he (quietly) opened a big offshore wind farm last week. But he is basically turning down British jobs to suit the prejudices of his backbenchers who are against green investment such as wind farms.
This is an open goal for Balls – a chance to show he is a tough economist who recognises the importance of green energy and investment in Britain’s future. It’s about time they started using it to score some points.
