Energy Secretary says ‘no one should doubt our resolve’ on tackling climate change as she hits back at criticism

EXCLUSIVE: Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said Britain’s communities ‘will not forgive us if we do not act to protect them’ after the UK was ravaged by heatwaves and wildfires this summer

The Energy Secretary has said “no one should doubt our resolve” on tackling climate change as she hit back at criticism.

Miatta Fahnbulleh said Britain’s communities “will not forgive us if we do not act to protect them” after the UK was ravaged by heatwaves and wildfires this summer.

New PM Andy Burnham faced criticism over the summer for not being explicit enough on the climate emergency facing the country – and the long-term action needed.

Firefighters tackled nearly 200 wildfires in the first 10 days of August alone, while droughts ruined farmers’ crops. Nurses warned the extreme heat was making the NHS an “impossible environment” to care for people and schools were forced to close or send students home early.

Mr Burnham called an emergency Cobra meeting and announced a temporary ban on disposable barbecues. He also announced a package of support to help farmers manage the impacts of the dry weather.

But leading climate organisations – including Greenpeace, WWF and Green New Deal Rising – wrote to the PM and accused him of “remaining silent” on the climate crisis, noting how a statement released after his Cobra meeting failed to mention climate change.

Asked about the criticism, Ms Fahnbulleh told The Mirror: “Well, I think it was a bit unfair because, to be fair, he’d only been in the job for a couple of weeks, and there’s only so much that you can cover.

“Look, I know Andy. He is as committed to climate change as I am. I think people should judge us by our actions. There has never been a Labour government that hasn’t made climate transition an imperative.

“We are a global leader in climate action. We always have been, and that is an action that the last government took under Labour, and it is an action that we are taking now.

“So no one should doubt our resolve about it. And the reason I say it matters is because it’s happening here, and ultimately, our communities will not forgive us if we do not act to protect them. That’s the first job of government, and that is why we’re taking it seriously.”

She said tackling the climate crisis was “absolutely a priority” for Labour, adding: “You can’t have gone through the last summer – we’ve seen heatwaves, we’ve seen droughts, we’ve seen wildfires.

“For me, the reason I care about this is that if we do not do our job as government of both protecting people by mitigating the impacts of climate change, but also adapting – because it is here – in order to respond and be resilient, that’s families, that’s homes, that’s businesses, that are communities that are impacted in the here and now today. But it’s also our kids. So we’ve got a responsibility to do this and do it well.”

Ms Fahnbulleh – who resigned as a minister under Keir Starmer after losing confidence in him – defended Labour’s steadfast support of renewable energy, saying the Tories and Reform are “in the wrong place” on their climate policies.

Kemi Badenoch has declared the 2050 Net Zero target impossible. In July, the Conservative leader said the plan to go carbon neutral by 2050 was “a political fiction bankrupting the country”.

Net Zero is the policy aimed at balancing out the amount of greenhouse gases with those being removed from the atmosphere. The 2050 target was set under Theresa May’s Tory government in 2019.

Richard Tice has repeatedly labelled the plans “Net stupid Zero”, claiming there is no evidence the strategy will work. The Reform UK deputy leader also faced criticism after saying people should be less “doom and gloom” about the hot weather and celebrate the benefits it could have on English wine.

Asked if Labour was losing the fight on Net Zero, Ms Fahnbulleh said: “My personal view, and that’s backed up by the science, is that I think some of our colleagues and other political parties have got themselves into a slightly nonsense position on this. That’s not where the public is.

“We are constantly testing this, polling, speaking to the public. The majority of the public supports action on climate, and they are seeing the impact on it in their lives and their communities.”

The newly appointed Cabinet minister said the UK must “diversify our energy” to move away from international markets and protect British families’ bills from global shocks like the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran.

She added: “The thing I say to the Tories and Reform is, when you say let’s not do renewables, even though we know it’s cheaper, when you say let’s not do clean energy at a time that we can see that the thing that is driving up bills is gas, what is your answer on affordability? And they don’t have one.”

As Parliament resumes next week, Ms Fahnbulleh and Mr Burnham must soon make a decision on drilling in the north sea. Unions are in favour of approving Rosebank, an oil field north-west of Shetland, and Jackdaw, a gas field east of Aberdeen, as they say it will protect jobs, while green campaigners say signing them off would lead to devastating environmental impacts.

Asked how she feels that she will upset people no matter the decision, Ms Fahbulleh said: “I think the debate has become a little bit too polarised. The way that I see it is, we’ve been really clear and really pragmatic that oil and gas are part of the mix as we do the transition.”

She admitted jobs were decimated in the north sea under the Tories and said Labour will ensure there is “a proper plan for Aberdeen that is about protecting and preserving jobs now, but also creating jobs for the future”.

But she also admitted more drilling will not make energy bills more affordable. “If you care about affordability, and that’s my number one priority, the reality is that because (Margaret) Thatcher sold off the North Sea, because oil that is drilled in the North Sea is sold on global markets that we have no control over, it doesn’t solve the problem of affordability.”