Lord Deben, the outgoing chair of the Climate Change Committee (CCC) and a former Conservative environment secretary, has called on Labour to counter “absolutely unacceptable” and “ignorant” attacks from Conservative ministers by offering a cross-party consensus on climate action. He urged the party to bring forward measures this parliament to meet net zero targets.
Deben strongly criticised Grant Shapps, the energy and net zero secretary, and Suella Braverman, the home secretary, for their vitriolic attacks on Labour, which they have branded as “the political wing of Just Stop Oil”. He said these attacks were “unacceptable” and that the government did not seem to understand what it had done. “It is ignorant to say that,” he added, referring to Braverman’s criticism of Labour’s stance on North Sea oil and gas licences.
Deben suggested Labour should respond by offering to back recommendations from a report by Chris Skidmore, a former Tory energy minister, which contains 130 proposals for achieving net zero. “If I were leader of the Labour party at this moment, I know exactly what I’d do,” Deben said. “I would say to the current government: ‘Here is Mr Skidmore’s report… we will accept, if you put it forward, we will do the following basic things… We won’t oppose it.’”
Such an offer, Deben argued, would shift the debate and force the government to act. He stressed the importance of cross-party unity on climate issues, noting that all major UK parties are committed to net zero. The CCC has warned that the UK is lagging behind its targets and needs immediate action to avoid higher future costs. “We can’t lose the 18 months between now and a general election,” Deben said.
Deben also criticised Labour for a lack of clarity on its policies, urging the party to provide more detail. He stepped down as CCC chair earlier this month after a 10-year term, with Prof Piers Forster serving as interim chair until a permanent successor is appointed in November.
