Labour’s net zero by 2030 plans to cost £116bn, analysis shows

LABOUR’S plans to reach net zero will cost £116billion, new analysis has revealed.

Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to decarbonise Britain’s electricity grid by 2030 will require more than £15.5billion additional investment per year until the start of the next decade. This is more than double needed over the same period to achieve net zero power by 2035, the Government’s current target.

Analysis by Aurora Energy Research, founded by academics from the University of Oxford, for Policy Exchange, found that decarbonising the UK’S power grid by 2030 would cost £116 billion over the next 11 years.

Even if such sums were available, analysts concluded, the supply chain constraints, skills shortages and lead times involved make the 2030 goal “infeasible”. Earlier this month, Ed Miliband, the shadow climate change secretary, said the 2030 goal “would be the leading commitment of any major country across the world”.

The Policy Exchange report outlines the impact of aiming to deliver net zero by 2030, a scenario in line with Labour’s policy vision. Compared to what they describe as the current trajectory of policy development and the market environment for the British power sector, £116billion would be needed in additional investment by 2035.

Bim Afolami, a Treasury minister, said the report showed that Sir Keir’s “eco-pledge” would mean “higher taxes or energy bills for working people, hitting everyone in the pocket”.

A Labour spokesman said: “Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan will make our country energy secure with investment in homegrown clean power to cut bills and boost our national energy security.”