Ed Miliband MP, Leader of the Labour Party, will today call on the Government to commit to the 2030 de-carbonisation target.
In a speech at Whitelee Wind Farm in Scotland, he will criticise the Government for throwing away the massive opportunities presented by the green economy and betraying its promises on the environment.
And Mr Miliband will declare that wind energy is good for Scotland and the UK showing that – by tackling climate change together – we can be better off together.
He is expected to say:
“David Cameron promised that this Government would be the greenest government ever. But this Government is not up to the task. We now have a Minister for Energy who is against building new wind turbines – and a government that has delayed crucial decisions on the Green Investment Bank and de-carbonisation targets.
“George Osborne is trying to undermine the Climate Change Act, leading the dash for gas, and pandering to the climate sceptics on the back benches. We even had the spectacle of the campaign manager for one of their by-elections conspiring with the anti-wind farm candidate, and undermining their own candidate.
“Since this Government came to power, investment in renewable energy hasn’t gone up, it hasn’t even stagnated – it has halved.
“When we were in Government, we passed the Climate Change Act which gave those investors the certainty they needed to invest. We take climate change seriously. We all have a responsibility to act now rather than expect our children to suffer the consequences.
“Today, I am calling on the Government to commit in the energy bill to the 2030 de-carbonisation target. That is what I would do if I was in Downing Street now and that is what this Prime Minister – who once flew halfway across Europe to hug a huskie – should do.
“But no town, region, country, or continent can solve the challenge of climate change alone. We have to work together. And that is true of the UK too.
“We are better off working together. We are better off building the green economy together. And we are better off rising to the challenge of climate change together.”