UK’s Labour opposition ramps up renewables goals

Policies would include creation of state-backed national energy champion to drive delivery of 100pc renewables by 2030

The UK’s opposition Labour party has put the rapid expansion of renewable power at the heart of its policy offering ahead of the next general election, which is expected in 2024. The party says it would aim to decarbonise the UK’s power system by 2030—five years earlier than the ruling Conservative government’s current target—through an aggressive expansion of renewables to be driven by a state-owned energy company working in partnership with the private sector and local communities. The new entity—Great British Energy—would be funded initially by c.£8bn (c.$8.6bn) drawn from a state-backed national wealth fund and would invest in a range of clean power technologies, including nuclear, Labou