The UK's energy transition is attracting significant political and business focus, with new clean energy job targets announced alongside a stark warning from the wider business community on policy stability.

Labour's Clean Energy Pledge

Labour's Shadow Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, pledged to make the UK a "world leader in clean energy" during a recent speech at the Labour Party Conference. Central to this plan is a target to double jobs in the clean energy sector by 2030, aiming to create 400,000 new jobs.

Industry Backs Job Opportunity

The announcement was immediately welcomed by firms within the green sector. Chris Collinson, CEO of heat pump specialist Aira UK, highlighted the sector's potential to deliver on this growth.

Mr Collinson said: “Ed Miliband’s speech highlights the huge opportunity for the UK to become a world leader in clean energy while creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. At Aira, we’ve expanded across the country with teams in Sheffield, Manchester, London, Oxford, and Scotland, and we’re investing in training new experts at our Aira Academy. The heat pump sector alone grew by 63% last year – proof that this is one of the most exciting opportunities for job creation in decades. By powering homes with homegrown renewables, we can cut bills, boost energy security, and deliver a cleaner future for all."

CBI Warns Against Framework Scrapping

However, the wider business community stressed the need to maintain the current legal structure that supports green investment. Responding to calls to abolish the Climate Change Act, Rain Newton-Smith, CBI Chief Executive, issued a clear warning about the risks of abandoning the core legislative framework.

Ms Newton-Smith stated: “Scrapping the Climate Change Act would be a backwards step in achieving our shared objectives of reaching economic growth, boosting energy security, protecting our environment and making life healthier for future generations. The Climate Act has been the bedrock for investment flowing into the UK and shows that decarbonisation and economic growth are not a zero-sum game... Fundamentally ripping up the framework that’s given investors confidence that the UK is serious about sustainable growth through a low-carbon future would damage our economy.”

The CBI noted that businesses delivering the energy transition contributed £83 billion to the economy last year and support almost one million jobs across the UK, underscoring the economic significance of the existing climate policy consensus.