British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government pledged on Tuesday to build new gas-fired power stations to boost energy security, criticizing his climate policies ahead of this year’s general election.
The Conservative government, which aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, announced in a statement that it would seek to build gas-fired power plants to stave off the threat of energy blackouts.
The UK has pioneered low-carbon energy such as nuclear, solar and wind power in a strategy to combat high electricity and gas bills, launched after key producer Russia invaded Ukraine in early of 2022, disrupting natural gas supplies and causing costs. – crisis of living.
“The government is committed to supporting the construction of new gas-fired power stations to maintain a safe and reliable source of energy for days when the weather forecast does not power renewables,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.
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Sunak, whose Conservatives trail the main opposition Labor Party in the polls, added that Britain must achieve its net zero target “in a sustainable way that doesn’t leave people without power on a cloudy, windless day”.
Outlining the commitment in central London, Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho also warned that “without gas to support renewables, we face the real prospect of blackouts”.
The independent Commission on Climate Change (CCC), a UK body that advises the government, admitted last year that a “small amount” of gas-fired electricity in 2035 was “compatible with a decarbonised electricity system” to provide balance and security . of energy supplies.
Sunak last year scaled back his net zero targets, specifically delaying a ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars by five years to 2035.
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The UK has also issued a raft of new oil and gas exploration licenses to shore up energy supplies amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
“This is the latest step in efforts to reach net zero in a sustainable, realistic way that frees the UK from having to rely on foreign dictators like Putin,” the government added.
‘Failure’
But Tuesday’s news drew the ire of Labor MP Ed Miliband, who urged Sunak to lift the UK’s de facto ban on new onshore wind turbines.
“We need to replace retiring gas-fired plants as part of a carbon-free electricity system that will include carbon capture and hydrogen playing a limited back-up role in the system,” he said.
“But the reason the Tories can’t deliver the lower bills and energy security we need is that they are experts at failing when it comes to our clean energy future: they’re sticking with the ridiculous ban on onshore wind, they’re messing up offshore wind auctions energy and fail energy efficiency.”
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The natural gas announcement also sparked outrage from environmentalists who argue it runs counter to the nation’s overall goal of helping tackle climate change.
“The government’s cunning plan to boost energy security and meet our climate targets is to make Britain more dependent on the very fossil fuels that have sent our bills soaring and the planet’s temperature skyrocketing,” said its policy director. Greenpeace in the UK, Doug Fri.
“The only path to a low-cost, secure and clean energy system is to attract massive private investment to develop renewable energy and upgrade our aging grid, but this government has failed on both fronts.”
Source: AFP