“The CBI said that net zero economy grew three time faster than the economy as a whole last year.”
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband has taken apart Kemi Badenoch’s claims that reaching net zero emissions by 2050 is ‘impossible’.
The Tory leader, in a desperate race to the bottom with Reform UK, has been busy trashing climate targets, despite the disastrous impact global warming is having on the planet.
Earlier this week, Badenoch said it was “impossible” for the UK to meet its net zero target by 2050 – a goal set by a previous Conservative government.
The UK is legally committed to reaching net zero by 2050 under a law passed by former Tory Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019. It means the UK must cut carbon emissions until it removes as much as it produces, in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
Badenoch claimed that net zero cannot be achieved by 2050 “without a serious drop in our living standards or by bankrupting us”.
Asked about her comments on Sky News, Miliband said: “I think she’s way out of step with the British people, quite frankly.
“I don’t think the British people want a culture war on climate, which is what she wants.
“I think what people want is the energy security we can get from clean energy, they want the jobs and growth. The CBI said that net zero economy grew three time faster than the economy as a whole last year.”
Miliband went on to accuse Badenoch of ‘short term thinking’, and asked: “What kind of legacy are we going to leave our children and grandchildren if we don’t do our bit as a country to tackle this problem? So on all of those grounds I think she’s way off the British people and where they are.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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