Make Britain a clean energy superpower

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The climate and nature crisis is the greatest long-term global challenge that we face. The clean energy transition represents a huge opportunity to generate growth, tackle the cost-of-living crisis and make Britain energy independent once again. That is why clean energy by 2030 is Labour’s second mission.

The Conservatives have failed to grasp opportunities in this area for two related reasons. First, because they simply do not accept that economic growth, energy security, lower bills, and addressing climate change can be complementary. Second, because they are ideologically opposed to using the role of the state, including public investment, to guarantee that they are.

The damage done by 14 years of chaotic ‘sticking plaster’ policies was exposed when Putin invaded Ukraine. The cost of fossil fuel energy on the international market rocketed. The Conservatives’ ban on new on-shore wind in England, failure to build new nuclear power stations, and decision to scrap investment in home insulation landed British families with amongst the highest energy bills in Europe. That is just one way we are paying the price. While countries around the world are racing ahead to claim the jobs and wealth that the transition offers, Britain is losing out.

But it is not too late to stop the chaos and turn the page. The Green Prosperity Plan will drive new investment into Wales, with the potential to lift people out of poverty and deliver new career opportunities. The Welsh Labour Government is backing this journey, investing in hydrogen, tidal energy, on- and off-shore wind, green innovation, and a new Net Zero Skills Action Plan.

Britain has tremendous untapped advantages: our long coast-line, high winds, shallow waters, universities, and skilled offshore workforce, combined with our extensive technological and engineering capabilities. Wales is incredibly well-placed to maximise these opportunities. With a serious, joined-up industrial strategy and a genuine partnership between the public and private sectors, as well as between Labour governments in Wales and Westminster, we can make Britain a clean energy superpower.

Labour will take decisive action to seize this economic opportunity. We will shape markets and use public investment to crowd in private funding. At the heart of our approach will be our Green Prosperity Plan where, in partnership with business through our National Wealth Fund, we will invest in the industries of the future. Our plan will create 650,000 jobs across the country by 2030.

We will end the chaotic Conservative chopping and changing on policy, harness clean power to boost our energy security, and invest in home insulation upgrades. We will save families hundreds of pounds on their bills, not just in the short term, but for good.

We will provide leadership at home so we can influence others to ensure every country plays their part in meeting our collective obligations to future generations.

At home, the Welsh Labour Government will continue to tackle the climate and nature emergencies together. Working alongside a UK Labour government, it will keep working to improve access to nature on people’s doorsteps and across Wales’ beautiful landscapes, promote biodiversity, and protect our wildlife.

Labour understands the road ahead. We have been clear that this transition presents an opportunity to create good jobs, with no community left behind, and support well-paying jobs in existing and future industries. The Conservatives propose an alternative course. A denial of reality; delaying action; increasing costs for Britain; exposing us to insecurity; and a failure to win the jobs of the future. They tried this chaotic approach in the 1970s and 80s, and communities right across Wales are still scarred by what happened. That is the choice facing Britain.

Families and businesses will have lower bills for good, from a zero-carbon electricity system. We have chosen this mission not because it is easy, but because working people can never again be left vulnerable to dictators like Putin.

To deliver our clean power mission, Labour will work with the private sector to double on-shore wind, triple solar power, and quadruple off-shore wind by 2030 across Britain. We will invest in carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and marine energy, and ensure we have the long-term energy storage our country needs. A new Energy Independence Act will establish the framework for Labour’s energy and climate policies.

Labour will end a decade of dithering that has seen the Conservatives duck decisions on nuclear power. We will ensure the long-term security of the sector, extending the lifetime of existing plants, and we will get Hinkley Point C over the line. New nuclear power stations, such as Sizewell C, and Small Modular Reactors, will play an important role in helping the UK achieve energy security and clean power while securing thousands of good, skilled jobs. With two Labour governments, we will continue to explore the opportunities for new nuclear at Wylfa.

Labour will maintain a strategic reserve of gas power stations to guarantee security of supply. We will ensure a phased and responsible transition in the North Sea that recognises the proud history of our offshore industry and the brilliance of its workforce, particularly in Scotland and the North East of England, and the ongoing role of oil and gas in our energy mix.

We will embrace the future of energy production and storage which will make use of existing offshore infrastructure and the skills of our offshore workforce. Labour will not revoke existing licences and we will partner with business and workers to manage our existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan. Crucially, oil and gas production in the North Sea will be with us for decades to come, and the North Sea will be managed in a way that does not jeopardise jobs. And our offshore workers will lead the world in the industries of the future.

We will not issue new licences to explore new fields because they will not take a penny off bills, cannot make us energy secure, and will only accelerate the worsening climate crisis. In addition, we will not grant new coal licences. A UK Labour government will ban fracking for good, as the Welsh Labour Government has already done in Wales.

To support investment in this plan, Labour will close the loopholes in the windfall tax on oil and gas companies. Companies have benefitted from enormous profits not because of their ingenuity or investment, but because of an energy shock which raised prices for British families. Labour will therefore extend the sunset clause in the Energy Profits Levy until the end of the next parliament. We will also increase the rate of the levy by three percentage points, as well as removing the unjustifiably generous investment allowances. Labour will also retain the Energy Security Investment Mechanism.

To drive forward investment in clean, home-grown energy production, Labour will create a new publicly-owned company, Great British Energy. It will be owned by the British people and deliver power back to the British people.

Working with the Welsh Labour Government and building on the work of Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru, Labour will invest in clean energy and good jobs, cut energy bills once and for all, and make Britain energy independent.

Great British Energy will partner with industry and trade unions to deliver clean power by co-investing in leading technologies; will help support capital-intensive projects; and will deploy local energy production to benefit communities across the country. To support this, Labour will capitalise Great British Energy with £8.3 billion, over the next parliament.

The company will create jobs and build supply chains in every corner of the UK. In Wales, Great British Energy will see us seize opportunities for clean energy technologies like floating off-shore wind in the Celtic Sea. It will create good jobs, cut energy bills, and power more Welsh households with renewable energy generated at home.

Local power generation is an essential part of the energy mix and reduces pressures on the transmission grid. Labour will deploy more distributed production capacity through our Local Power Plan. Great British Energy will partner with energy companies, local authorities, and co-operatives to install thousands of clean power projects, through a combination of on-shore wind, solar, and hydropower projects. We will invite communities to come forward with projects, and work with local leaders and devolved governments to ensure local people benefit directly from this energy production.

Under the Conservatives, the broken energy market has let customers down. The government has allowed scandalous abuses on their watch, including poor customer service, companies going to the wall with the costs falling on billpayers, and the mass forced installation of pre-payment meters.

Labour will ensure a much tougher system of regulation that puts consumers first and attracts the investment needed to cut bills. Too much of the burden of the bill is on standing charges and we will work with the regulator to reduce them. We will strengthen the regulator to ensure it can hold companies to account for wrongdoing, require higher standards of performance, and ensure there is automatic customer compensation for failure.

The national grid has become the single biggest obstacle to the deployment of cheap, clean power generation and the electrification of industry. With grid connection dates not being offered until the late 2030s, important business and infrastructure investment is being stalled or lost overseas. Labour will work with industry to upgrade our national transmission infrastructure and rewire Britain.

As Britain becomes a clean energy superpower, Labour is determined that we will create new high-quality jobs, working with business and trade unions, as we manage the transition. We will rebuild supply chains at home. And, as the first major economy to transition to a clean-energy system, we will export the technologies of the future.

Labour’s National Wealth Fund will directly invest in ports, hydrogen and industrial clusters in every corner of the country. We will also secure the future of Britain’s automotive and steel industries.

We will reward clean energy developers with a British Jobs Bonus, allocating up to £500 million per year from 2026, to incentivise firms who offer good jobs, terms and conditions and build their manufacturing supply chains in our industrial heartlands, coastal areas, and energy communities.

Labour will end the injustice of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme. We will review the unfair surplus arrangements and transfer the Investment Reserve Fund back to members, so that the mineworkers who powered our country – and provided the very heart of so many Welsh communities – receive a fairer pension.

The Welsh Labour Government is working with partners across the social housing sector in Wales to deliver the Warm Homes Programme. In this Senedd term, it is rolling out an ambitious programme of retrofitting Welsh social housing to create healthy homes for tenants. The updated Welsh Housing Quality Standard sets out the standards that social housing should meet over the next 10 years.

The Welsh Labour Government is working with the Development Bank of Wales to develop a loan scheme for owner-occupiers to provide a retrofit assessment of their home. This will provide owner-occupiers with a clear plan of the work which will be required to decarbonise their property. They will be supported to access grant funding and other financial support.

Practical support like this from the Welsh Labour Government will save families hundreds of pounds on their energy bills, reduce fuel poverty and help to deliver against climate change targets.

With Wales as the first nation in the world to declare a climate and nature emergency, the Welsh Labour Government will continue leading the way on tackling climate change and creating security for future generations. It will continue to drive public sector decarbonisation, retrofit homes, and work with partners across all sectors of society to reach our climate ambitions in a fair way, where the benefits are shared by everyone. Key to this is unleashing the green jobs potential of renewable energy generation across Wales, including in the Celtic Sea.

British industry is also held back by high electricity costs, which has often made investing here uncompetitive. Labour’s clean energy mission will drive down those bills, making British businesses internationally competitive while our National Wealth Fund supports the most energy intensive sectors to decarbonise.

Labour supports the introduction of a carbon border adjustment mechanism. This will protect British industries as we decarbonise, prevent countries from dumping lower-quality goods into British markets, and support the UK to meet our climate objectives.

Labour will ensure the institutional framework for policy making reflects our commitments to reach net zero and meet our carbon budgets. The Conservatives’ decision to prevent the Bank of England giving due consideration to climate change in its mandates will be reversed.

Britain’s world-leading financial services industry has a major role to play in mobilising trillions of pounds in private capital to address the greatest long-term challenge of our age. Labour will make the UK the green finance capital of the world, mandating UK-regulated financial institutions – including banks, asset managers, pension funds, and insurers – and FTSE 100 companies to develop and implement credible transition plans that align with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement.

Preparing for the future not only means tackling the climate and nature emergencies, but also adapting to the changes they bring to our environment. Without action, flooding and coastal erosion will pose greater risks to lives, livelihoods and people’s wellbeing. The Conservatives’ poor risk management, and a disjointed approach across government and regulators have left Britain badly exposed.

Labour will improve resilience and preparation, with the Welsh Labour Government and a UK Labour government working in partnership and with local authorities, local communities, and emergency services. This includes formally working with all stakeholders in the Fire and Rescue services to inform policy and establish national standards.

The climate and nature emergencies go hand in hand, and we must tackle both together. Our spectacular coastline and landscapes are enjoyed by people across the nation and visitors to Wales, and yet the Conservatives have left Britain one of the most nature depleted countries in the world.

Working alongside a UK Labour government, Welsh Labour will continue delivering for nature. It has been working with partners to create spaces for nature on the doorsteps of people across Wales through the Local Places for Nature programme. Alongside this, the Nature Networks programme has invested over £30 million over the last two years, with more to come. The Welsh Labour Government has restored 3,000 hectares of peatland since 2020 and is helping to create rich habitat, store water, secure vital carbon stores, and create highly skilled jobs.

Welsh Labour will continue to expand nature-rich habitats and will ensure that 30 per cent of Wales’ lands and seas are protected by 2030 as part of new, ambitious, legally-binding biodiversity targets for halting and reversing nature loss. There will be legislation for a new environmental governance framework in Wales. There will be stronger enforcement action to protect the environment and stricter penalties for those who break environmental rules. Two Labour governments working together will partner with civil society, communities and business to restore and protect our natural world.

Wales has a proud history of improving access to nature, epitomised by the Wales Coast Path. Building on these successes, we will keep striving to make nature more accessible through the National Forest and by continuing to work towards creating a new National Park.

Across Britain, coasts, rivers and lakes are impacted by illegal pollution. In England, the Conservatives have turned a blind eye, and weakened regulation, with serious damage being done to people’s health, our countryside, and the tourism industry.

In Wales, three times as many rivers achieve good or better ecological status than in England, but we know there is more to be done. As well as the Better River Quality Taskforce focusing on sewage pollution, and nutrients management boards, the Welsh Labour Government pioneered the River Summits, which are chaired by the First Minister and bring all stakeholders together to tackle all sources of pollution. This approach is key to ensuring the trend of improving water quality in Wales continues. Welsh Labour is also committed to improving water quality by reviewing agricultural pollution regulations and tackling metal mine pollution. The Welsh Labour Government has now invested £15 million since 2020, with another £5 million planned for 2024-25.

The UK Labour Government will give regulators new powers to block the payment of bonuses to executives who pollute our waterways.

Preparing Wales and Britain for the future not only means tackling the climate and nature emergencies, but also adapting to the changes we will see in our environment. Without action, flooding and coastal erosion will pose greater risks to lives, livelihoods and people’s wellbeing. However, Britain as a whole is left exposed by poor risk management, and a disjointed approach across government and regulators.

Building on previous work, the Welsh Labour Government is set to invest £75 million in capital improvements this year, working with councils to reduce the risk of flooding and coastal erosion to communities right across Wales. It has also committed to working with nature to improve flood management in all major river catchments, expanding wetland and woodland habitats in the process. Going forward there will be funding for over 20 more of these projects across Wales, working with Welsh farmers, landowners, and civil society.

Labour will improve resilience and preparation, with the Welsh Labour Government and a UK Labour government working in partnership and with local authorities, local communities, and emergency services. This includes formally working with all stakeholders in the Fire and Rescue services to inform policy and establish national standards.

The Welsh Labour Government is delivering groundbreaking legislation on coal tip safety.

The Welsh Labour Government recognises that food security is national security and understands the importance of farming in protecting our communities, our language, and our culture.

A successful future for Welsh farming is about producing food sustainably, looking after the environment and underpinning Wales’ rural communities, while also overcoming the climate and nature emergencies we and future generations are facing.

The Sustainable Farming Scheme is key to achieving this and Welsh Labour will continue listening and working in partnership with farming unions, civil society and others. Together we can create a future where our farmers produce the very best of Welsh food to the highest standards, and safeguard our precious environment.

Working alongside a UK Labour government’s ambition to increase the proportion of food purchased across the public sector that is locally produced or certified to higher environmental protection standards, Welsh Labour is committed to supporting local food supply chains and high environmental standards. The Welsh Labour Government will also continue work to support the rural economy.

The on-farm slaughter of cattle with TB has a huge impact on the wellbeing of farmers, farm workers, and their families. Welsh Labour will build on recent steps towards reducing the numbers of cattle slaughtered on-farm in Wales, particularly those in the late stages of pregnancy, and will continue to work with farmers and scientists to achieve a TB-Free Wales. Welsh Labour will also support the mental health and wellbeing of farmers and their families by continuing to work with the charities that provide such excellent support.

The Welsh Labour Government will continue to work towards the Wales Community Food Strategy and Food Matters.

The Welsh Labour Government wants Wales to be recognised for its exemplary standards of animal welfare.

Welsh Labour has a proud record of enforcing strong animal welfare standards, from promoting responsible dog ownership, to legislating for mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses, to banning the use of snares and glue traps.

With two Labour governments working together we can do so much more. We will ban trail hunting and the import of hunting trophies. We will end puppy smuggling and continue the Welsh Labour Government’s work including on microchipping, caged farm animals, greyhound welfare and the licensing of animal welfare establishments. Labour will partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards phasing out animal testing.

Wales’ ranking as the second highest recycling nation in the world is one of Welsh Labour’s proudest achievements. This success is down to every household’s contribution, and is the product of a clear vision and sustained investment, coupled with a robust regulatory framework and strong partnership. The Welsh Labour Government’s workplace recycling regulations will drive further progress, underpinning ambitions for the circular economy and the green jobs it brings. The Welsh Labour Government will deliver on the promise of recent Senedd legislation to improve air quality in Wales.

Working with a UK Labour government, Welsh Labour will continue to reduce the scourge of litter and beat plastic pollution to move to a circular economy that protects nature and people, and cleans up our communities, as well as reducing single-use plastics and giving more support for councils to reduce littering and fly tipping. Welsh Labour will continue to support ambitious measures for re-use, including deposit return schemes and re-use and repair hubs, with the aim of supporting a hub in each local authority in Wales.

Labour will end the climate and energy chaos, turn the page on 14 years of failed policies, and make Britain a clean energy superpower.