Thursday 8 September 2022 12:41 AM Climate change tsar is hauled over the coals after warning Liz Truss against ... trends now
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The Government’s climate change tsar was told he needs to ‘live in the real world’ after he warned Liz Truss against lifting the fracking moratorium despite the energy crisis.
Lord Deben said approving fracking would have no impact on energy prices – and urged her to focus on renewables instead.
The Prime Minister is set to end the ban on the gas extraction method today, after pledging to take action during the leadership campaign.
But Lord Deben, who is chairman of the Committee on Climate Change, warned the PM yesterday the best way to solve the energy crisis was to double down on renewable sources rather than expanding domestic production.
Lord Deben said approving fracking would have no impact on energy prices – and urged her to focus on renewables instead
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘There is no sliver of a cigarette paper between the fact that if you want to deal with climate change and you want to deal with the cost of living crisis and oil and gas prices you have to do the same things – renewable energy and energy efficiency –they are the answers.
‘If you want energy bills down, you produce your energy in the cheapest possible way. That happens to be by renewables.’
But last night Craig Mackinlay, part of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group of Tory MPs, who question the cost of meeting the Government’s climate targets, said: ‘Lord Deben and his Climate Change Committee need to come out of their ivory towers and live in the real world. We are facing an energy cost and supply emergency. It is time we unleashed the full potential of all sources of domestically derived power. Fracking could play a
