Coutinho embraces uncertainty and rejects need for ‘ever-increasing targets’

Energy secretary Claire Coutinho has signalled a more hands off approach towards net zero targets, in a speech that was disrupted by climate activists.

It has sparked concern among industry figures who have warned that “affordable energy security” is dependent on “stable and long-term polices”.

Coutinho, however, rejected arguments that government must provide business with certainty in terms of “who will buy their products, in what quantity and at what time,” while speaking at the Innovation Zero conference.

She added that the UK faces a “fork in the road”, which could involve going down a path of “ever-increasing and narrowing sets of targets, where government dictates outputs and prices, where a Net Zero Leviathan of central planning crushes our brilliant enterprise economy.”

Instead, Coutinho said she wants the country to go down a second path “where we live with some uncertainty, knowing that it is one of the key stimulants of risk and product development that competes to win over consumers”.

“The second path gives us the space to tackle emissions whilst also making sure we can keep the lights on and costs low for British families and businesses,” she added.

Given that Britain produces less than 1% of global emissions, Coutinho said this country’s “bigger contribution to tackling climate change will come from innovation”.

Coutinho’s support for less of a top down approach to meeting the UK’s net zero goals follows her government’s decisions last autumn to not impose higher energy efficiency standards on private landlords and push back the 2030 phase out date for new electric car and van sales.

More recently, the secretary of state has announced that new targets on boiler manufacturers to deliver heat pump installations have been pushed back until next year.

Responding to Coutinho’s speech, chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “The signals are very clear. We have the strongest legal framework of any major country, which obliges the government to meet its carbon budget and live up to its net zero commitments.

“There is a consensus between the two major parties that we should do that. No one is trying to change that. We want to make sure we go on and deliver it.”

However, energy industry bodies have expressed alarm that Coutinho’s speech heralds a slowing down on green energy targets and policies.

While welcoming the secretary of state’s focus on innovation, Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology chief executive Nina Skorupska said: “If you want to deliver affordable energy security, you need stable and long-term polices against which both innovations can be developed, and investments made.

“The UK’s climate targets and current polices are key to this. They allow businesses to plan, develop supply chains, build up skills and create jobs, all of which ultimately help reduce prices to the benefit of UK consumers.

“Going into an election, industry wants to see a clear vision backed by ambitious policies. This means ensuring that existing commitments are not watered down, while delivering sensible policies that ensure the UK remains an attractive market for investment in our world leading innovative renewable energy sector.”

Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive of Energy UK, said that “clear direction and policies from government” have enabled UK companies to make long-term investments required to reduce emissions and develop world beating technologies to tackle climate change.

“At a time of increasing international competition for funding, it is more important than ever that we continue to provide the right environment to bring forward billions of pounds of investment that will benefit our economy, environment and people and ensure we don’t miss out on the opportunities in front of us.

“There remains a critical role for government in showing ambition and a clear, long-term policy direction that provides the certainty businesses of all sizes require – and to play a role in helping remove barriers around things like planning and infrastructure that can also inhibit growth and investment.”

Climate protestors from the new Stop Polluting Politics campaign attempted to repeatedly interrupt both Coutinho’s speech and Hunt’s sessions at the conference.

They highlighted Coutinho’s role in overseeing the approval of the controversial Rosebank North Sea oil field and her acceptance of a £2,000 donation from Baron Hinze, who was linked to the climate change sceptic Global Warming Policy Foundation.