Our nation’s future depends on the green transition – and that depends on skills
Department for Energy Security & Net Zero in Whitehall. (Contributor: Avpics / Alamy Stock Photo)
4 min read
The future of our nation depends on our approach to energy. Growth, national security, jobs, bills and Britain’s reputation for global leadership all rest on the success of the clean energy transition and the pursuit of net-zero by 2050. So, I am thrilled to have been elected as chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee.
As a Labour MP, I am proud that this government is leading the way. Great British Energy, the UK’s first publicly owned energy company in 70 years, will be based in Aberdeen, with hubs across Scotland. Supported by £8.3bn in public funding, it aims to attract more private investment, develop clean energy, jobs, and energy independence. Other countries have publicly owned energy companies, some with stakes in UK infrastructure, so why not ours, in the national interest?
Meanwhile, Ed Miliband has, as Energy Secretary, lifted the nine-year onshore wind ban, approved three new solar farms, achieved a record-breaking renewable energy auction, securing enough power for 11 million homes, and committed support for carbon capture technology.
In 2012 over two million homes were being insulated each year; now it’s fewer than 100,000
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine highlighted the vulnerability of our energy market, caused by years of neglect and short-term thinking. The onshore wind ban and lack of support for wind and solar left UK households without the energy security that was within reach.
The previous government set a target of 600,000 heat pump installations per year and achieved just 72,000. In 2012 over two million homes were being insulated each year; now it’s fewer than 100,000. The sharp decline began when David Cameron pushed to “cut the green crap”. As a result, three-in-five homes now have poor EPC ratings, leaving households paying far more than they should to heat their homes. And as for energy security, who can forget that in 2017 Liz Truss closed the UK’s gas storage facility?
It is important for my committee that we learn from the mistakes of the past and scrutinise the work of the new government.
Home energy efficiency and reducing business energy bills are just two issues raised with me since I became chair. MPs have invited the committee to learn about opportunities in all corners of the country. Since my election, I have been contacted on a wide range of issues: grid capacity, electricity pylons, the gas network, solar farms and agriculture, floating offshore wind, nuclear, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, interconnectors, batteries and energy storage, decarbonising industry and transport, and ensuring that GB Energy has a strong presence across the UK.
My own constituency, Sefton Central, sits in a Liverpool city region taking its own seat at the top table on clean energy. The industrial decarbonisation project HyNet, the offshore wind in Liverpool Bay, the plans for Mersey Tidal and the district heating system Mersey Heat, serving the refurbished Tobacco Warehouse. The city region has helped its residents cut their energy bills, with the best record in the country for insulating housing stock.
Among the invitations to visit exciting projects, one common theme emerges in every conversation: skills.
If we are to recommit to the 2008 Climate Act, delivering energy security in the short term and net-zero by 2050, we must train the engineers and technicians to build, operate and maintain our infrastructure. Ministers suggest that 90 per cent of oil and gas workers have transferable skills for low-carbon projects. Past failures on heat pumps and insulation can be traced back to a lack of certainty on policy and direction, making it too risky for industry to invest in recruitment and training.
It is in everyone’s interest that this government succeeds in cutting bills, creating jobs, enhancing national security and addressing global warming.
My committee has an exciting role in scrutinising the approach of the government. I look forward to considering the evidence, making recommendations and helping shape policy in an area so vital to our nation’s prospects.
Labour MP for Sefton Central and chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee
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