The Tories’ most senior energy spokesperson would not be drawn on when a Conservative government might aim to reach Net Zero after her party pledged to scrap the 2050 target.
Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho faced scrutiny over her party’s plans to abandon the 2050 target, as the Government unveiled the first-ever national plan to train and recruit workers who can fill the skills gap in the clean energy transition.
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Ms Coutinho was asked about the future of the Tories’ climate policy.
“We think decarbonisation is not a bad thing, I think caring about pollution is important, but at the moment, the targets are actually pulling you in the wrong direction,” she said.
“If you want to decarbonise, the thing you have to do is get people to use electric products, cars, home, heating, industry, to electrify their machinery.
“So we don’t have a target”.
The senior Tory admitted to the BBC this week that the decision to scrap the 2050 pledge would lead to a rise in domestic carbon emissions.
“So emissions would go up domestically but I would argue not necessarily globally,” she told the broadcaster’s Political Thinking With Nick Robinson podcast.
However, she argued that as UK climate law is focused on domestic emissions, it did not take account for the impact that higher domestic carbon output may have on reducing the carbon emissions of imports into the UK, which are not taken into account.
Elsewhere, the Government’s strategy, published on Sunday, outlines how ministers will deliver on their promise for more than 400,000 extra jobs in the clean energy sector by 2030, doubling the existing opportunities.
Under the plans, ministers have identified 31 priority occupations that are particularly in demand, such as plumbers, electricians and welders.
Five “technical excellence colleges” will be set up to train workers with clean energy skills, the Government said.
A new programme will also be launched to match veterans with careers in solar panel installation, wind turbine factories and nuclear power stations – as will tailored schemes for ex-offenders, school leavers and the unemployed.
The plans also say oil and gas workers will be able to benefit from up to £20 million from the UK and Scottish Governments for bespoke careers training in clean energy roles.
And the “energy skills passport,” which identifies routes for oil and gas workers to transition into offshore wind, will be extended to new sectors, including nuclear and the electricity grid.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “Communities have long been calling out for a new generation of good industrial jobs.
“The clean energy jobs boom can answer that call – and today we publish a landmark national plan to make it happen.
“Our plans will help create an economy in which there is no need to leave your hometown just to find a decent job.
“Thanks to this Government’s commitment to clean energy, a generation of young people in our industrial heartlands can have well-paid, secure jobs, from plumbers to electricians and welders.
“This is a pro-worker, pro-jobs, pro-union agenda that will deliver the national renewal our country needs.”
In the plan, the Government will set out how trade unions will be a key part of its jobs drive by recognising their role in securing high pay and good conditions for workers.
This includes a new “fair work charter” between offshore wind developers and trade unions to ensure firms benefiting from public funding provide good wages and strong workplace rights.
Ministers said they will also look to close loopholes in legislation to extend employment protections enjoyed by offshore oil and gas workers working beyond UK territorial seas, including the national minimum wage, to the clean energy sector.
