The former leader of the Labour Party described Marvin Rees as a "climate leader" during a visit to Bristol today (Tuesday, April 5).
Ed Miliband had a tour of the Castle Park Energy Centre ahead of Bristol City Council's cabinet launching City Leap. Last week, the council announced it had chosen renewable energy firm Ameresco Ltd as its City Leap partner, with the two organisations forging a 50/50 joint venture.
The deal commits Ameresco to invest £424million in low-carbon energy infrastructure, such as heat networks and heat pumps, which will remove 140,000 of carbon across the city in the first five years of a 20-year agreement. Bristol City Council will grant access to its estate, with the American business retrofitting its social housing by 2030 and paying the authority a guaranteed £4.2million.
Read more: Marvin Rees says council will put cap on energy prices for heat networks customers
The City Leap partnership will work with Sweden’s nationally owned energy company Vattenfall Heat UK which will effectively buy and run all the council’s heat networks that the authority has been building since 2015. Mr Miliband, Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero, said he thinks Bristol will meet its target to be carbon neutral by 2030.
He said: "I think it is incredibly exciting what has been done here in Bristol. I have seen this water-source heat pump which is using the natural heat from the river water to heat thousands of households across Bristol as part of the district heating network.
"This is the future and, under Marvin Rees' brilliant leadership, the mayor, he is moving things forward on the climate agenda at a rapid pace - it is an example for the country."
When asked about Mr Rees' plans to build an underground, the former leader of the Labour Party said the mayor's plans "across the board are incredibly impressive" and described Mr Rees as a "climate leader".
Want to know more about the world of Bristol politics? Sign up for our newsletter here
"It is not just about climate change, it is about energy bills," he continued. "Energy bills are on everyone's minds at the moment, they have absolutely rocketed upwards and what this could do is provide cheap, clean, secure power for people. And that is why I think it is so exciting."
When asked about the Clean Air Zone, which the mayor said last week is "on track" to launch in September, the MP for Doncaster North said that he supports what Mr Rees is doing. "It is right to move forward on the whole climate agenda and I think that is what we are seeing here in Bristol," he continued.
