Sir Keir Starmer’s announcement earlier this month that he will be shrinking his green prosperity plan was disappointing. Last year was the hottest on record and, most likely, in the past 100,000 years. If there were ever a moment to go big on the climate, it is now. However, even in its diminished state, Labour’s plan represents progress compared with the government’s. That is the message contained in a report by the Common Wealth thinktank, which takes heart from Labour’s proposal for a publicly owned company, Great British Energy.
Common Wealth says this could be the vehicle to deliver Labour’s 2030 clean power goal. It warns that the UK is not on course to deliver on its green generation target through its current approach to decarbonising the power system. The problem is that the status quo relies on private profits and fragmented markets. But the thinktank argues that this is “slower, more expensive, less secure and more carbon intensive” than a transition based on state coordination. Renewable investment financed out of Labour’s £8.3bn capitalisation of GB Energy saves up to £208m a year on debt interest payments alone compared with corporate borrowing.
