Ed Miliband – 2021 Comments on Government’s New Emissions Target

The comments made by Ed Miliband, the Shadow Business Secretary, on 19 April 2021.

The character of this government on climate change is now clear: targets without delivery. So while any strengthening of our targets is the right thing to do, the Government can’t be trusted to match rhetoric with reality.

Ministers have failed to bring forward an ambitious green recovery, passing up three major fiscal events to do so. They are flirting with proposals for a new deep coal mine, axed the vital housing retrofit scheme, and are way off track for our net zero targets.

We need a government that treats the climate emergency as the emergency it is. That means greater ambition than this government matched with much more decisive action. This year, as hosts of COP26, the UK has a particular responsibility to lead the world and show the way forward for a greener future. This Government isn’t up to the task.