As Liz Truss, the UK’s new Prime Minister, announces a new energy plan, climate solutions charity Ashden responds that this welcome emergency intervention is a short-term fix and also needs a long term commitment to retrofit and renewables.
Harriet Lamb, CEO at Ashden says: “The emergency intervention announced by the Prime Minister Liz Truss is a much-needed immediate fix. But to address this once and for all we needed the announcement to include the two Rs – that is, a country wide retrofit programme and rapid scale up of cheap and quick renewable energy.
Much of Liz Truss’s energy plan focused on securing new sources of high carbon energy, including a likely 100 new licenses for oil and gas.
“This is totally disingenuous,” says Ms Lamb. “The crisis is caused by high oil and gas prices – drilling for more will not address that key problem. It will take years and will add to the climate crisis. Investing in renewables is quicker, cheaper and is the only solution to the climate emergency we are in.”
Ms Lamb also pointed out that although Mrs Truss stated that businesses will need to look at increasing energy efficiency and energy generation, she gave no indication of what government would do to support businesses to do this.
Ashden is part of the Warm this Winter coalition which demands that the government provides more emergency financial support for people this winter, funding to help people cut their bills with better insulation, and rapidly moves the country away from expensive gas and onto cheaper, renewable energy.
