Ed Miliband’s spending spree to make Britain achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by the next general election in 2029 will cost a staggering £37billion in public money, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The Energy Secretary has said average energy bills could be £300 lower in five years as the country shifts to a greener economy.
But an audit by The Mail on Sunday has uncovered at least £37.4billion of taxpayers’ money being earmarked for Net Zero initiatives over the course of this Parliament.
It comes as ministers draw up plans to subsidise the cost of fitting solar panels and energy storage batteries in homes for the Government’s pledge for the UK to use clean energy by 2030.
The creation of Great British Energy, a publicly owned firm, will cost at least £8.3billion, and in October the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero took control of the Electricity System Operator, the National Grid unit tasked with keeping the nation’s lights on, in a £630million deal.
Meanwhile the National Wealth Fund, which supports clean energy industries and industrial strategy, has £7.3billion of Treasury backing.
Mr Miliband has even promised to honour a 2019 Conservative pledge to provide £11.6billion for international climate funding by 2026. In February, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact said the target would be ‘challenging’ to meet, with 55 per cent of the funding – around £6billion – yet to be spent.
Labour will pay an estimated £4billion in subsidies to the Drax power plant in North Yorkshire by 2027 for it to burn wood pellets imported from forests overseas. Elsewhere, the Autumn Budget confirmed an initial £3.4billion over the next three years towards decarbonising 350,000 homes and replacing fossil fuel-burning gas boilers with heat pumps.
Ed Miliband’s spending spree to make Britain achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by the next general election in 2029 will cost a staggering £37billion in public money, The Mail on Sunday can reveal
It comes as ministers draw up plans to subsidise the cost of fitting solar panels and energy storage batteries in homes for the Government’s pledge for the UK to use clean energy by 2030
Electric Cars Charging at a Modern EV Station
The Times reported that millions of homeowners are to be offered grants and cheap loans to convert their properties to solar power as part of the Warm Homes Plan. Other funding programmes Labour is pressing ahead with include:
- £2billion for the automotive industry’s transition to Net Zero, digitalisation, and automation, as well as £200million for EV charging points;
- £120million to support buying electric vans as part of the plug-in vehicle grant;
- £2billion for 11 new hydrogen projects;
- £1.5billion for the next renewable energy auction;
- £239million to help tackle global deforestation.
In September, the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce – established by the London Stock Exchange in 2022 – predicted that the Government’s ambition to make the transition to Net Zero would need up to £50billion in public and private funds annually until 2030.
Electricians building photovoltaic solar module station on roof of house
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband during a visit to the Siemens Energy turbine factory in Hull to launch the clean power 2030 action plan on December 13
Other measures introduced by Labour for its green revolution will not come directly out of state coffers, but will hit householders’ pockets.
Tory energy spokesman Claire Coutinho said last night: ‘Labour’s Net Zero zealotry will mean taxpayers having to fork out billions of pounds in pursuit of Ed Miliband’s vanity projects, and leaving families facing higher costs.’
Yesterday, the Daily Mail reported that families will be hit with the highest ever tax rates on flights after Chancellor Rachel Reeves increased Air Passenger Duty by 15 per cent on most flights.
The UK Energy Research Centre said Mr Miliband’s drive for £40billion a year in private investment to decarbonise the National Grid could force the UK to pay a premium to secure technology and that, because of uncertainty over gas prices, there was no guarantee it would lead to lower energy bills.
