Govt energy announcement: Half-baked plan shows they simply don't care about cutting energy bills.

3 Apr 2023

EMBARGO: 00:00 Thursday 30th March

Responding to the Government's embargoed energy announcment, Liberal Democrat Climate Change and Energy spokesperson Wera Hobhouse MP said:

"The fact the Government had to be dragged to court in order to announce this half-baked plan shows they simply don't care about tackling climate change or cutting energy bills.

“This updated Net Zero strategy once more falls far too short. There is no clear pathway to ending our fossil fuel dependency, a de facto ban remains on onshore wind and there is no remit for the regulator Ofgem to have a clear net zero objective.

“This is just compounding the Government’s legacy of failure on climate action and investing in renewables, the cheapest and most popular form of energy."

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

Government embargoed press release:

Shapps sets out plans to drive multi billion pound investment in energy revolution

Ambitious plans to scale up affordable, clean, homegrown power and build thriving green industries in Britain have been unveiled by the Government today (Thursday 30 March) – boosting the country’s energy security and independence, reducing household bills for the long term and maintaining a world-leading position in achieving net zero. 

Building on decisive Government action taken since 2021, measures announced today include:

World leading commitment to Carbon Capture Usage and Storage – The first projects will be announced to progress to the next stage of the negotiations to rollout the first Carbon Capture clusters in our industrial heartlands. The round for areas to apply for two additional future clusters has also been launched and there will be an opportunity for further projects to be added to the first two clusters. These announcements build on the £20 billion CCUS funding
Kickstarting investment into the UK’s emerging floating offshore wind industry by launching the £160m fund to support port infrastructure projects, securing the UK’s leadership in this new technology.
Backing the first tranche of new green hydrogen production projects under the £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund as part of development of this new power source.
Opening the fifth round of the UK’s world-leading scheme to incentivise investment in renewable electricity, backed by a budget of £205 million. Now being held annually, Contracts for Difference will build on the UK levy-funded support for renewable power since 2010 of around £80bn.
Announcing Great British Nuclear, will initially be led by Simon Bowen as interim Chair and Gwen Parry-Jones OBE as interim Chief Executive Officer: with GBN’s first job to launch a new competition to select the best Small Modular Reactor technologies – one of the most advanced nuclear power technologies in the world – for development by Autumn.
Speeding up the planning process to attract investment – reforming the planning process to enable the building of more energy infrastructure including solar power and offshore wind projects more quickly.
Cutting household bills by expanding Government energy efficiency support to even more households - The Great British Insulation Scheme, a rebranded ECO+, will upgrade 300,000 of the country’s least energy efficient homes. 
Investing more than £380 million into boosting EV charging points and infrastructure across the country to support the rollout of electric vehicles
Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels to heat our buildings – a new £30 million Heat Pump Investment Accelerator is designed to leverage £270 million private investment to boost manufacturing and supply of heat pumps in the UK. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which offers a £5,000 grant to anyone buying a heat pump, will be extended to 2028.
Providing UK Export Finance with an extra £10 billion capacity to boost exports, including from the UK’s world leading clean growth sectors.
Building a stable environment for businesses to invest and grow in the transition to electric vehicles and sustainable aviation fuel.