The Cost of "Green" Energy Has Been Revealed
Manufacturing body Make UK has warned that the government's drive towards net zero is inflicting serious damage on the economy. Meanwhile, social media users have been sharing their own experiences of how the UK's "green" agenda is driving up household electricity bills.In its latest report, Make UK, which represents around 20,000 manufacturing businesses, warned that soaring energy costs are wiping out profits and pushing many firms towards insolvency. It estimates that the economic cost of high energy prices now stands at around £85 billion a year.
The Telegraph quotes Make UK chief executive Stephen Phipson, who argues that the policies pursued by Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband—and by his predecessors—which have built renewable energy subsidies into electricity bills, are motivated more by politics than by economic reality.
Bills Have Risen for Everyone
Social media users argue that Labour has continued to intensify its commitment to the green agenda, whilst household electricity bills have continued to climb.
Lord Richard Walker, who was appointed by Keir Starmer as an adviser on the cost of living, has warned Andy Burnham that environmental policies are leaving households with unaffordable energy bills. He has called for the UK's clean energy targets to be postponed until 2030. Even while serving in his advisory role, Walker repeatedly criticised Starmer over the continuing rise in the cost of living, arguing that the transition to green energy was placing an increasing financial burden on households.
Net Zero Is Taking Its Toll on Industry
According to the International Energy Agency, industrial electricity prices in the UK are 63 per cent higher than the median across member countries.
Conservative Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho points out that wind farm operators receive subsidies of up to £120 per MWh, whilst wave and tidal energy projects receive as much as £390 per MWh.
‘Factories are shutting down because of Mad Miliband's Net Zero push. Soaring energy bills have triggered factory shutdowns and job losses. Companies are going under because of Labour's ideological madness,’ writes user Sedd.
Government ministers insist they are doing everything possible to help businesses cope with the current situation. However, Steve Elliott, chief executive of the Chemical Industries Association, has dismissed such assurances as meaningless. As quoted by The Telegraph, he described the situation as "yet another sad tale of decarbonisation through policy-driven deindustrialisation". High electricity prices have already led to the closure of 26 chemical plants over the past five years, with around 10,000 jobs lost. And those figures relate to just one sector of the economy.