Trade secretary Kemi Badenoch, who has previously criticised net-zero policies, called investment in green energy “the future-proofing force that will help us create a better tomorrow” at a government eco trade and investment expo.
“Now is the time to future-proof our economy by investing in cutting-edge green technology, protecting our long-term energy security and creating thousands of jobs in industries of the future,” said Badenoch at the Green Trade and Investment Expo in Gateshead, northern England, on Tuesday.
‘Growing Our Green Industries Is Crucial to Reaching Net Zero’
Hosted by the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the expo brings together UK businesses and global investors to capitalise “on the commercial opportunities stemming from the UK’s journey to net zero.”“We in this room know that we can only tackle climate change by using free trade and investment to accelerate green technological progress. And we must do this in a way that does not impoverish the UK,” she said.
She added that it’s a “long-term investment in nuclear and renewables that will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and keep down consumer costs.”
Net Zero Watch, which was founded by the former Chancellor Lord Nigel Lawson, scrutinises climate and decarbonisation policies.
‘Low-Quality Jobs’
“What low-quality fuels like renewables do, like wind and solar, is that they create low-quality jobs in the energy sector. There may be quite a lot of those, not necessarily in the UK, they will be in low-cost manufacturing countries in Asia,” said Constable.He said that this “destroys jobs outside the energy sector, so the net effect on employment is negative.”
“Creating thousands of jobs in the wind industry is not a good thing because it destroys more jobs outside the wind industry because of the high costs,” he added.
Constable said that Badenoch “speaks sense” when she is outside of government, citing previous net zero criticisms.
But he added that MPs seem to be “powerless to resist the civil service line on this,” which he characterised as “completely wedded to the decarbonisation agenda through renewables.”
He said that it will require “a physical crisis in the UK economy” and “some very exceptional people in politics” to change the situation.