Ed Miliband to lead UK’s greenest opposition ever?

Posted: September 28th, 2010

On Saturday, the younger of the Miliband brothers Ed was nominated as the new leader of the Labour Party. But will he lead the greenest opposition ever?

We will get the first hint later today when Ed Miliband addresses the Labour Party Conference in Manchester.

Hopes are high thanks to Ed Miliband’s background as founding minister at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

Under his leadership at the Department, the UK became the leader in offshore wind, now even further ahead at 5 GW following the recent opening of the Thanet wind farm off the Kent coast.

The now-possibly in jeopardy feed-in tariff (FIT) were brought in under his watch, along with plans for a complementary renewable heat incentive (RHI). And promises were made for a green investment bank.

That idea has now been adopted by the Coalition Government and Miliband’s successor at DECC, Chris Huhne, is making all the right noises – but there are concerns that he is being hampered by resistance at the Treasury.

And with Prime Minister David Cameron’s claims that the Coalition will be the “greenest government ever”, Miliband has the chance to make sure he sticks to his promises.

Friends of the Earth’s executive director Andy Atkins welcomed the move, saying:
“Ed Miliband genuinely understands that tackling global warming is essential and he was a key figure in the development and passing of the UK’s ground-breaking Climate Change Act. Developing a low-carbon future and protecting the planet’s natural diversity must be at the core of his leadership.”

And with the Coalition’s forthcoming Energy Bill, Atkins says Miliband has the chance to establish himself and Labour as a “constructive opposition” on climate change and carbon-cutting policies.

source: Energy Efficiency News