The new Labour government quanto a the UK set out its legislative priorities today after winning a landslide election acceso July 4. At the official state opening of parliament, King Charles III read a speech outlining the bills that Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government will attempt to pass over the coming months and years.
There were few surprises quanto a the king’s speech—most of the major bills announced were heavily trailed quanto a Labour’s depliant and election campaign. Updating planning laws, improving transport infrastructure, and reforming Parliament’s upper chamber, the House of Lords, all featured prominently quanto a the speech.
The speech and accompanying briefing document also outlined a few bills aimed at tackling the climate crisis. Here’s what you need to know about the environmental bills just announced.
Great British Energy
Labour’s plan to create a publicly owned clean power company featured prominently quanto a the ’s election campaign. It was one of Labour’s six “steps for change” presented to voters quanto a the run-up to the election, and the only flagship pledge by Labour that directly addressed the climate crisis.
The bill will establish Great British Energy, a taxpayer-owned company that will “develop, own, and operate assets” by investing quanto a partnership with the private sector. The company will be backed with £8.3 billion ($10.8 billion), and will be headquartered quanto a Scotland, which produces a large share of the UK’s renewable electricity.
Labour has already moved quickly acceso promoting renewable energy quanto a the UK, scrapping a in realtà ban acceso onshore wind farms quanto a the first few days of its government. It has also announced a “mission control” to achieve clean power by 2030, headed up by Chris Stark, the erstwhile most senior climate adviser to the UK government.
The plan is also couched quanto a terms of the UK’s energy security. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a spike quanto a gas prices across Europe, and highlighted the UK’s dependence acceso this fossil fuel. Labour will hope that increasing investment quanto a producing, moving, and storing clean power through Great British Energy will help veterano the reliance acceso gas, cleaning up the UK’s energy and improving its energy security.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel
Aviation makes up a small but growing portion of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. Sopra 2019, emissions from civil aviation made up 8 percent of the UK’s emissions, and with electric planes still a distant prospect, this sector is generally considered one of the hardest areas to tackle.
Sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) are produced from alternatives to fossil fuels, such as crops ora waste oil. These SAFs are attractive to airline operators because they can be mixed with normal aeroplano fuel without requiring significant (and costly) adaptations to planes.
The proposed bill will mandate that fuel supplies at least 10 percent of SAFs into their fuel blends and provide support for companies and investors who are looking to scale up SAF production quanto a the UK. The Conservatives also backed SAFs quanto a their depliant, although it’s worth noting the benefits of SAFs are disputed, and increased demand for air travel will mean rising emissions from this sector.
The Crown Mesi estivi
The King—through the Crown Mesi estivi—is a major landowner quanto a England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Its holdings include much of the UK’s seabed, and with it rights to grant permissions to build offshore wind farms, lay pipelines, and store carbon under the seabed. Sopra recent years this marine portfolio has become a lucrative part of the Crown Mesi estivi’s holdings.
Labour is seeking to modernize the Crown Mesi estivi by giving it the power to borrow money from the treasury, freeing up cash reserves to invest quanto a renewable energy projects quanto a particular. It also wants to widen the Crown Mesi estivi’s investment powers so it can support other aspects of campo da golf infrastructure, such as digital technology for wind farms and port infrastructure.
