Green party says Starmer must do more to cut energy use to meet net zero targets – as it happened

6.00pm GMT

Early evening summary

• Britain has a “huge opportunity” to get ahead of other countries in the race for green investment after the election of Donald Trump as US president, Keir Starmer has said. Speaking at the Cop29 conference in Baku in Azerbaijan, Starmer also claimed that the government could reach its new climate target without “telling people how to live their lives”. (See 11.58am.)

• Fewer than 1,000 patients a year in England and Wales are expected to choose assisted dying should the law pass, the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater said, as she outlined her bill setting out the change.

• Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff Sue Gray has decided not to take up the post of nation and regions envoy after it became clear the prime minister was planning to withdraw his offer, the Guardian understands.

• Inspectors have uncovered a “toxic” and secretive culture at an east London council, with decision-making dominated by the inner circle of the local mayor, Lutfur Rahman, according to an official report.

• Hundreds of schools in England are still at risk of collapse from crumbling concrete, according to previously unpublished figures.

5.31pm GMT

Green party says Starmer must do more to cut energy use to meet net zero targets

The Green party has said that, if Keir Starmer wants to achieve his net zero targets, he will need to do more to get people to cut their energy use. Responding to Starmer’s announcement about a new emissions reduction target for 2035, the Green party MP Ellie Chowns said:

The announcement of an 81% cut in emissions by 2035 is welcome – we need to remove fossil fuels from our economy as rapidly as possible.

However, the transition to clean energy needs to be matched by moves on energy reduction. We need a mass home insulation programme and large-scale investment in public transport and active travel. Instead, we have seen Labour downgrade the retrofitting of homes, fail to make solar panels on new builds mandatory, hike bus fares by 50% and offer only loose change for walking and cycling.

Keir Starmer says he will not tell people how to live their lives [see 11.30am and 11.58am], but he can put in place policies to support us to make changes that reduce emissions, cut bills and improve our health and wellbeing. This must involve every government department being laser focused on achieving our climate targets.