Labour blocks appointment of climate tsar
Welsh ministers wield veto and claim that the shortlist for the net zero watchdog is not diverse enough
LABOUR is blocking the appointment of a former Barclays chief as head of Britain’s net zero watchdog, claiming that the Government’s shortlist for the job was insufficiently “diverse”.
Claire Coutinho, the Energy Secretary, is understood to want Sir Ian Cheshire, the ex-chairman of Barclays and Debenhams, to chair the Committee on Climate Change, which has repeatedly pushed the Government to impose more radical net zero targets.
Sir Ian, 64, is believed to be on a shortlist of six candidates shared with the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish governments, which have a veto under Gordon Brown’s Climate Change Act. The list included two female candidates, one of whom is believed to be in line to be deputy chairman.
But The Telegraph understands that Labour ministers in the Welsh government have refused to endorse Sir Ian or any of the other five candidates, claiming that a “lack of diversity” means that the shortlist “lacks credibility”.
A government source said: “We want a serious and credible candidate, with solid experience, and we believe the current shortlist contains some great and talented people. It is a shame that Labour believe this list, including several distinguished women, is not sufficiently diverse.”
Despite acknowledging that “due process has been followed by the officials leading the appointments process”, Julie James, Labour’s climate change minister in the Welsh government, claimed in a letter to Graham Stuart, her Conservative counterpart in Westminster, that appointing any of the individuals on the shortlist would “undermine public confidence” in the Climate Change Committee. The intervention raises the prospect of Labour’s ministers in Wales being able to block the appointment indefinitely. If Sir Keir Starmer wins the election due later this year, Ed Miliband, Ms Coutinho’s opposite number, could re-run the process and appoint a more radical candidate favoured by Labour.
The move to appoint Sir Ian, who now chairs Channel 4, appears to be an attempt to install more moderate leadership at the helm of the Climate Change Committee after Lord Deben stepped down as chairman last year after a decade campaigning on green issues and pressing the Government to adopt stringent climate targets.
The shortlist is also believed to include Emma Howard Boyd, the former chairman of the Environment Agency, and Rhian-Mari Thomas, an ex-investment banker who is now chief executive of the government-backed Green Finance Institute.
The Climate Change Committee is a statutory body advising the Government on greenhouse gas emissions targets. The watchdog opposed a series of changes announced by Mr Sunak in September, including pushing back the planned 2030 ban on the sale of petrol cars. It was criticised by the Prime Minister for proposing a meat tax to help reduce Britain’s carbon emissions.
In a letter to Mr Stuart, seen by Telegraph, Ms James said: “Your officials have shared with me a list of the candidates deemed appointable by the advisory assessment panel. I was extremely disappointed at the lack of diversity in that list, and believe it falls far short of the level required for such an important and high-profile person.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “Welsh Ministers have raised concerns about the list of candidates put forward by the UK Government. The Climate Change Committee plays a critical role in helping all UK nations achieve net zero and build resilience to the impacts of climate change. Credibility is fundamental to its purpose, as is public confidence in its voice.”