Ed Miliband – 2020 Comments on Government’s Green Jobs Announcement

Below is the text of the comments made by Ed Miliband, the Shadow Business Secretary, on 6 July 2020.

We have consistently called for a recovery which has energy efficiency at its heart, and will welcome any measures which achieve that.

However, this is not a comprehensive plan. It appears there is almost nothing for the people who rent the 8.5 million homes in the social rented sector and private rented sector, which has the worst energy efficiency standards. That means one third of people are left out.

It also needs to be part of a much broader and bigger scale strategy for getting back on track for net zero which includes a zero carbon army of young people getting back to work, investment in nature conservation, driving forward renewable energy, helping our manufacturers be part of the green transition and a plan for our transport network.

The French government has promised 15 billion euros for a green recovery, the German government 40 billion euros. The UK government £3 billion so far. When the moment demands the Government creates the most ambitious green recovery possible, the Government has not so far risen to the challenge.