As the new U.K. Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband is on a mission to make Britain a global climate leader. Within days of the Labour Party forming a new government this July, the country’s ban on onshore wind power projects was lifted. Less than a month after the election, the “Great British Energy Bill” was introduced to Parliament—if passed it would establish a publicly owned energy company that prioritizes clean power. And all of this is under Miliband’s purview. Since then, he has said the U.K. will honor its pledge to commit £11.6 billion ($15.05 billion) in overseas aid for the climate crisis, and is currently in the midst of deciding new, potentially more ambitious, goals for cutting the U.K.’s greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]What is the single most important action you think the public, or a specific company or government (other than your own), needs to take in the next year to advance the climate agenda?
What I’d say to anyone is that we need to act on the new case for climate action. We used to talk about investing in clean energy as the right long-term choice for future generations. Now it’s the right short-term choice for today’s generations as well. In Britain, this has been brought into sharp relief by the cost-of-living crisis that we’ve been through following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Our dependence on fossil fuels has left us deeply exposed as a country. Britain has a goal of delivering clean power by 2030 because it’s the right thing for bills, energy independence and jobs as well as climate. Clean energy gives us an opportunity to tackle the injustices that scar countries around the world. We should be making that argument and acting on it.
What’s the most important climate legislation that could pass in the next year?
For the U.K. it will be the Great British Energy Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament. This is an incredibly exciting piece of legislation, which will be the first in decades to establish a new publicly owned energy company in Britain. Great British Energy will help speed up the rollout of clean energy, while creating a new generation of good jobs and generating wealth for our country. At the moment, a lot of our energy infrastructure is owned by foreign state-owned companies, but we have no British equivalent. Great British Energy is about ensuring the British people can own and benefit from our natural resources, as we drive towards clean energy.
If you could stand up and talk to world leaders at the next U.N. climate conference, what would you say?
Funny you should ask, because I’ll be doing just that in Baku. The message we’re taking to COP29 is that Britain is back in the business of climate leadership. This is a pivotal moment for the world. We’re nearly halfway through the decisive decade for climate action and the world is way off track from limiting warming to 1.5°C. Countries need to lead by the power of example to protect our children and grandchildren from climate disaster. For our part, Britain will be announcing a bold 2035 climate target in Baku, which will be consistent with 1.5°C, and pushing for the world to agree on an ambitious climate finance goal.