Monday 26 September 2022 12:08 AM Keir Starmer backtracks on plan for green power by 2030 admitting fossil fuels ... trends now
Keir Starmer was forced to backtrack yesterday after mapping out Labour’s plan to make Britain green by the end of the decade.
He wants to counter Tory tax cuts by banking on renewable energy to boost growth, claiming the UK could have zero-carbon electricity as soon as 2030.
But after the policy came under scrutiny, the Labour leader was forced to admit that fossil fuels might still have to be used as a back-up to provide Britain’s power.
Keir Starmer was forced to backtrack yesterday after mapping out Labour’s plan to make Britain green by the end of the decade
He said the nation needed to double its onshore wind generation, triple solar and quadruple offshore wind capability and continue to use nuclear power to reach the target.
Sir Keir claimed it would cut households’ fuel bills, tackle climate change and stop Britain being at the mercy of global markets and dictators such as Vladimir Putin.
But he faced repeated questions from journalists about whether, if his party won the 2024 general election, his ‘green growth plan’ could be delivered in just a few years.
Industry leaders also said it was dishonest not to be upfront about the huge costs involved in the scheme.
Asked ‘how on earth’ he would achieve the aim, Sir Keir admitted: ‘It’s going to be difficult, but the prize here is huge, which is lower prices for people on the bills they’re going to pay.’
BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg pointed out that wind generation was only operating at 15 per cent of its capacity in Britain on Friday because the weather was too calm, and asked him: ‘How do you keep the lights on if you don’t have fossil fuels to fall back on?’
He replied that his target was ‘absolutely doable’, adding: ‘Well, you’d always have a transition with oil and
