Labour’s net-zero is built on slave labour and broken promises
3 min read
Labour’s net-zero ambitions have attracted a range of descriptions, from ambitious and groundbreaking to unrealistic, naive and idealistic. But after the past few weeks, ‘immoral’ must also be added.
The Great British Energy Bill laid bare a grim reality: when given the choice between ethical standards and their green agenda, Labour sacrificed the former by rejecting the Lords amendment that would have prevented public funds from supporting companies with supply chains tainted by modern slavery. Lord Alton’s amendment recognised a fundamental truth: our procurement policies cannot ignore the human rights abuses in Xinjiang, or child labour in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In rejecting it, the government revealed the true human cost of its headlong rush toward net-zero.
Labour’s acceleration of clean electricity targets to 2030 is recklessly unrealistic. While the EU targets a 90 per cent reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 and the US has abandoned its 2050 net-zero goal under the Trump administration, the UK government demands we triple solar capacity and quadruple offshore wind within five years. This accelerated timeline isn’t just challenging; it’s virtually impossible without cutting corners, increasing costs and risking UK jobs in our energy industries.
If the 2030 target cannot be reached without relying on forced labour, it must be revisited
One of those corners, it seems, is ethical sourcing. Approximately 45 per cent of the world’s polysilicon, a key component in solar panels, is produced in Xinjiang. All four major polysilicon manufacturers in the region participate in forced labour programmes involving Uyghurs.
Similarly, cobalt for batteries often comes from mines using child labour in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
These connections are well-documented by human rights organisations worldwide. Yet when given the opportunity to ensure Great British Energy wouldn’t channel taxpayer money into these tainted supply chains, Labour MPs rejected it.
It was a poignant moment in the same week that marked a decade since the landmark Modern Slavery Act. Ten years of progress on human rights compromised in the pursuit of arbitrary timelines for climate targets. Is this really the net-zero policy we aspire to? One which, in the pursuit of achieving, we are prepared, at best, to turn a blind eye to and, at worst, effectively condone slave labour? I’m certainly not willing to sign up for that.
Energy bills are forecast to rise by about £85 this year alone, taking typical household bills to £1,823 annually. Meanwhile, Labour’s veto on new North Sea oil and gas licences jeopardises over 35,00 direct jobs (and countless indirect jobs), £12bn in tax revenues and, by 2050, £150bn to the UK economy. In the rush to net-zero we are abandoning our energy security and domestic industry, jobs, skills and investment, to become more dependent on Chinese supply chains compromised by human rights abuses.
China holds a “near monopoly” over mineral processing supply chains essential for wind turbines, electric vehicles and solar panels. This dependency on a country with documented human rights abuses creates strategic vulnerabilities that threaten our values and national security.
The government cannot pursue net-zero at any cost. If the 2030 target cannot be reached without relying on forced labour, it must be revisited. We should invest in domestic manufacturing capacity rather than outsourcing our environmental responsibilities to regimes that exploit vulnerable workers.
British consumers and taxpayers deserve an energy transition which reflects our values, protects our economic interests, and genuinely contributes to a sustainable world – not net-zero at any cost. This requires political leadership that values substance over symbolism.
The irony is stark: a Labour government that claims to champion workers’ rights is building its environmental legacy on modern slavery abroad while undermining jobs at home. This isn’t just hypocritical, it’s morally indefensible.
Harriet Cross, Conservative MP for Gordon and Buchan
