A Labour Government will provide much-needed global leadership in the drive to net zero, to cut bills for families at home, Keir Starmer has pledged, as he concluded a first day of meetings with world leaders at the COP28 conference in Dubai.
The Labour leader is attending COP28 to show how for his Labour government, international leadership and collaboration is a vehicle to ‘turbocharge growth in the UK and drive-up living standards for British working people’.
Against a backdrop of the ongoing cost of living and energy security crises that have hit families and businesses across Britain, and a worsening climate crisis, Keir Starmer is attending COP28 to show that a Labour Government will be “fighting for Britain” to bring in jobs and investment, which will cut bills, make us energy independent, and tackle the climate crisis.
They will say that Labour’s plans to make the UK a clean energy superpower will bring down energy bills for families, by investing in homegrown, cheaper energy. Doing so will also boost UK energy independence, which has been undermined by the Conservatives, making the UK vulnerable to fossil fuel dictators.
While the Conservatives have watered down net zero commitments and retreated from the international stage, Keir Starmer’s Labour is attending COP28 to show that stepping into collaboration with allies is the path to bring in jobs and investment, cut bills, give Britain the energy security we need.
After an afternoon in which he met world leaders including the King of Jordan, and the Prime Ministers of Iceland, Lebanon, and Barbados, Starmer set out more detail of Labour’s global Clean Power Alliance, a proposal the Labour leader took to Davos earlier this year, gaining support for the plans.
A Labour government would secure a global ‘buyer’s club,’ a coalition of countries working together with the explicit goal of reducing the price of energy at home and abroad through investment, co-operation, and information sharing on decarbonisation.
Building on basic frameworks set out by international initiatives like the Global Climate Club, the clean power alliance will bring countries at the cutting edge of climate ambition together to share knowhow, speed up access to vital materials, such as Cobalt, Lithium, and Nickel, and push others to match their ambition. By driving the deployment of clean power, the alliance will push down costs and strengthen critical supply chains, speeding up the energy transition and ultimately lowering prices for consumers at home and abroad.
Labour recognises that the energy transition requires a new way of working if like-minded countries are to maximise their assets. In a stark contrast to the Conservatives pitting countries against each other, Labour will pursue healthy competition, accompanied by the necessary international cooperation.
This alliance will benefit UK business and UK consumers. It will lower prices, create jobs, secure our energy sector supply chains, ramp up demand, turbocharge our energy transition, and ultimately contribute to growing our economy – whilst encouraging others around the world to do the same.
Starmer has set out how under Labour, “Britain will be back on the world stage” as a reliable and ambitious partner to lead on solving the biggest challenges our world faces. The clean power alliance is one example of how as Prime Minister he will achieve this for the benefit of British working people. It builds on the announcement out of Labour Party Conference 2022 that Labour will make the UK a world-leading clean energy superpower, committing to delivering a zero-carbon electricity system by 2030.
At COP28, countries are going to be pressing to agree to an ambition to triple renewable generation deployment between now and 2030. Labour’s plans would see installed renewable capacity more than triple by 2030.
Commenting on Labour’s global Clean Power Alliance, Keir Starmer will say: “The only way to end the cost of living crisis is to cut energy bills with clean, homegrown power for our country. The drive to net zero is an economic opportunity that my government will seize.
“By building a global Clean Power Alliance, a Labour government will build strong partnerships abroad to boost prosperity at home. While the Conservatives risk global relationships to make divisive political points, Labour know they’re a path to lower bills for working people in Britain.
“My Labour Government will be a serious, responsible partner, in the national interest. Every decision I take will be to cut bills for families, boosts energy independence, and protect our country for future generations.”
Ed Miliband MP, Labour’s Shadow Energy Secretary, said: “The Conservatives have trashed Britain’s reputation for climate leadership, and have turned their backs on the race for clean energy.
“Labour’s Clean Power Alliance will bring countries together to build the clean power we need to give our countries lower bills and real energy security.
“The British people want lower bills and climate leadership- that is what Labour will deliver.”
“Labour will lead a global Clean Power Alliance to deliver lower energy bills while accelerating the energy transition” says Starmer as he meets with world leaders at COP28, by staff reporter
