Miliband warns of danger Westminster 'out of touch' with public on net zero

UK energy secretary Ed Miliband has warned there is a danger many in Westminster are “out of touch” with the public on net zero, while also seeking to clarify when decisions will be made about the next Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction and zonal pricing reform.

Miliband was speaking today at the Global Offshore Wind summit hosted by industry body RenewableUK in the Excel conference centre in London.

The Labour government was elected almost a year ago promising to turn the UK into a renewable energy superpower, setting ambitious wind and solar targets with an aim of all-but eliminating fossil fuels from the grid by 2030.

But these plans have come under attack from opposition parties, as British power prices remain among the highest in Europe. The Reform party, currently seen as the main electoral threat to Labour, has placed opposition to “net stupid zero” at the heart of its pitch to voters, while the Conservatives have walked back on their previous target of reaching net zero by 2050, labelling it “impossible”.

In a Q&A session with RenewableUK deputy CEO Jane Cooper, Miliband said there is a “danger that Westminster is actually quite out of touch with the public on this.”

Citing polling experts, Miliband said there is broad public support for renewable energy and that the “anti-net zero brigade are going down blind alleys.”

“The public actually believes that this is the right thing for the country,” he said, “by significant majorities.”

“Honestly, the best thing we can do to counter the minority that believe that somehow we should turn the clock back and abandon what we're doing, the clean energy mission, is to show delivery on the ground.”

Miliband said Labour is pursuing an “inspiring and exciting vision of a new era of clean energy abundance” for Britain. He continued that it was also crucial to get off the “rollercoaster” of fossil fuel markets, adding that “we're reminded by geopolitical events all the time how important that is.”

Miliband’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is currently in the midst of consulting on and implementing a suite of reforms that could radically reshape the UK’s annual CfD auctions and the power market generally.

Speaking to an audience of global wind executives, many of whom are on tenterhooks to find out what changes to expect, Miliband promised that DESNZ will “shortly confirm” key decisions for the upcoming AR7 auction.

“My overriding priority is to give you confidence and certainty,” he said, “because I know these are essential ingredients for you to make a long-term investment.”

Cooper also pressed Miliband on when a decision will be made on the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements, or ‘REMA,’ where the government is currently weighing whether to switch the UK power market to having zonal rather than national power prices.

With so little time until the AR7 round opens, there has been speculation that the decision on zonal pricing could be pushed back until after the auction, however Miliband appeared to rule that out.

“We said towards the end of last year that we would make a decision on remodelling by the time of the opening of the auction round for AR7,” said Miliband. “That continues to be the position.”

“I'm just going to say very succinctly and clearly, I've heard the message of the industry about the importance that you attach to knowing the outcome of REMA and we will deliver.”