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The Tories’ most senior energy spokesman will not be wooed when a conservative The government could aim to reach net zero after his party pledged to scrap the 2050 target.
shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho Faces scrutiny over his party’s plans to abandon 2050 target Government Unveiled the first national plan to train and recruit workers who fill the skills gap in the clean energy transition.
Appearing on BBC’s Sunday With Laura KuenssbergMs Coutinho was asked about the future of the Tories’ climate policy.
“We think decarbonization is not a bad thing, I think it’s important to care about pollution, but at the moment, the targets are really pulling you in the wrong direction,” she said.
“If you want to decarbonize, the thing you have to do is to motivate people to use electric products, cars, home, heating, industry, to electrify their machinery.
“So we don’t have any goals.”
Senior Tories admitted to the BBC this week that the decision to scrap the 2050 pledge would lead to an increase in domestic carbon emissions.
“So emissions will increase domestically but I would argue not necessarily globally,” she told the broadcaster’s Political Thinking with Nick Robinson podcast.
However, he argued that because UK climate law focuses on domestic emissions, it does not take into account the impact that higher domestic carbon production could have on reducing the carbon emissions of imports into the UK.
Elsewhere, the government’s strategy published on Sunday sets out how ministers will deliver on their promise to create more than 400,000 additional jobs in the clean energy sector by 2030, doubling existing opportunities.
Under the plans, ministers have identified 31 priority occupations that are particularly in demand, such as plumbers, electricians and welders.
The government said five “technical excellence colleges” would be set up to train workers with clean energy skills.
A new program will also be launched to match veterans with careers in solar panel installation, wind turbine factories and nuclear power stations – as well as schemes for ex-offenders, school leavers and the unemployed.
The plans also say oil and gas workers will be able to access up to £20 million from the UK and Scottish governments for specific career training in clean energy roles.
And the “Energy Skills Passport”, which identifies pathways to transition into offshore wind for oil and gas workers, will be extended to new sectors including nuclear and the power grid.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “community The new generation has been demanding good industrial jobs for a long time.
“A surge in clean energy jobs 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 to find a good job.
“Thanks to this Government’s commitment to clean energy, a generation of young people can find well-paying, secure jobs in our industrial sectors, from plumbers to electricians and welders.
“This is a pro-labor, pro-jobs, pro-union agenda that will provide 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 campaign by recognizing their role in ensuring high wages and good conditions for workers.
This includes a new “fair work charter” between offshore wind developers and trade unions to ensure that companies benefiting from public money provide decent wages and strong workplace rights.
Ministers said they will also look at closing loopholes in the law to extend the employment protection enjoyed by offshore oil and gas workers working beyond UK territorial waters to the clean energy sector, including the national minimum wage.