Clegg: UK must be energy independent by 2050
Clegg: UK must be energy independent by 2050
Wednesday, 20, Aug 2008 08:00
Nick Clegg has set a deadline of 2050 for Britain to become energy independent, saying there needed to be a cross-party dedication to the project equal to that required to put a man on the moon.
The Liberal Democrat leader said an ever-greater reliance on foreign energy supplies was hurting Britain's energy security.
"The scale of the failure to plan for Britain’s energy security has been brought into sharp relief by the Georgian crisis, which underlines the risks of increasing dependence on foreign energy sources as North Sea oil supplies run down," Mr Clegg said.
He went on to call for a renewed focus on renewable energy sources.
"We have an enormous opportunity to create real energy independence for the UK, freeing ourselves from the shackles of foreign oil, coal and gas," he continued.
"Renewable energy is no longer a pipe-dream. It is realistic and achievable. All it requires is the leadership and vision that has been lacking under years of tired Labour thinking.
"That’s why today I am setting out Liberal Democrat proposals to become energy independent by 2050. This will require the kind of ambition and political will that succeeded in putting man on the moon."
The Conservatives accused Mr Clegg of stealing Tory policies and arriving at unrealistic conclusions.
"Much of what Nick Clegg has said is a carbon copy of Conservative policy," said shadow business secretary Alan Duncan.
"But his overall conclusions defy reality. To deny the looming energy gap and to pretend that with his policies he can realistically become the prophet of total energy independence for the UK is irresponsible and verges on the loopy.
"It amounts to energy appeasement and endangers the UK."
Environmental group Friends of the Earth praised the initiative, however.
Friends of the Earth’s Head of Campaigns Mike Childs said:
"Nick Clegg is absolutely right to call for a green energy revolution – the only sustainable future for the UK is one based on a combination of renewable energy and energy efficiency," said Mike Childs, head of campaigns.
"Building a thriving renewable energy industry will help us avoid disastrous climate change, tackle rising energy prices and create hundreds of thousands of jobs – paving the way for a successful low carbon economy."