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Environment secretary Steve Reed has admitted that Sir Tony Blair’s criticisms of net zero policies are “valid and important” after the former PM warned government actions on climate change were failing.
But the senior minister insisted that his colleague Ed Miliband’s much criticised push for renewable energy supplies and ending the use of fossil fuels was the right thing to do.
Sir Tony had warned that Mr Miliband his eco policies are wrong because voters know their financial and lifestyle sacrifices needed to met government pledges will have virtually no impact on climate change.
It comes as the Climate Change Committee (CCC) warned the UK is critically unprepared for the escalating climate crisis and accused the government of not doing enough in the face of impending floods, heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires.
Speaking to Times Radio, Mr Reed disagreed with a government source who accused for ex-PM of “having a public tantrum” and said that Sir Tony “is making a valid and important contribution to a very significant debate that we're having”.
He went on: “I agree with much of what he said, but not absolutely every word and dot and comma of it. But this government is moving to clean energy because it's best for Britain. It's more energy security for Britain. It's jobs and investment right across the United Kingdom. And those are all things we all want to see."
It was a very different tone to the one used by sources close to Mr Miliband who was seen as the main target of Sir Tony’s ire.
The ally of the energy secretary said: “We've just won an election in part on an argument that we need to speed up the clean energy transition. The PM said last week that clean energy is in the DNA of the government.”
But despite appearing to disagree with Mr Miliband’s hardline, Mr Reed defended the government’s actions.
This includes 78 per cent tax on energy profits pushing up the price of energy, stopping drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea, and closing down coal mines. Instead, Mr Miliband has greenlighted massive solar and wind farms as renewable alternatives.
Mr Reed said: “The reason we're asking people to take that action is because it breaks our dependency on fossil fuels and the likes of Vladimir Putin. Why should anybody that cares about the security of the United Kingdom want us to remain dependent on fossil fuel dictators?
“We want to take back control of our energy, generate more of it at home because it gives us more energy security as well as lowering prices.”
Mr Reed added that the government policies on rapidly phasing out fossil fuel would help prevent tackle the impending threats of climate change on the UK.
He said: “It also helps us meet our climate objectives. And if you look at the changes we've had in the weather, the more extreme flooding we're getting, the more droughts that we're getting, we all need to play a part as a global community to tackle climate change for those reasons.”
Sir Tony has called for more investment in carbon capture, which sees carbon removed from the air, to allow fossil fuels to continue to be used, a greater use of technology including artificial intelligence, and a rollout of nuclear power.
Mr Reed agreed with the former prime minister.
He said: “I mean, one of the other points that Tony is making in his piece is that there needs to be more focus on carbon capture and storage technology. Well, we agree with that. So the government is investing £22 billion in that technology. That's the highest amount any government has ever invested.
“So I think we are doing what Tony Blair says he wants to see, but we're also shifting away from dependence, over-dependence on fossil fuels because it's better for the country to take control of our own energy.”
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