Speed up switch to clean tech to cut household energy bills, Government urged

Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, said: “People in this country are fed up with an energy system that sees oil and gas companies rake in billions while the rest of us are saddled with higher bills.

“The Committee is entirely right that the route to cheaper bills is helping every household and business make the switch to clean domestic electricity so that we can free ourselves from the fossil fuel rollercoaster.

“Few can now be unaware of the material difference that climate change is making to our weather. The extreme heat faced by parts of the country is hitting people with costs right now – whether that’s having to find childcare because schools are closed, train lines are shut, or older and more vulnerable people experiencing health difficulties in the heat.

“Yet the response from some politicians is to act like none of this is happening – whether that’s rising oil prices, or rising temperatures. Instead, like Trump, they demand more North Sea drilling and the scrapping of targets that aim to keep us within safe climate limits. New drilling will do nothing to lower our bills, but it will make a handful of oil companies even richer and the escalating climate crisis worse for us and future generations.

“The UK’s clean economy is growing faster than the rest of the economy. With more ambition and the right policies it could lead to the kind of reindustrialisation – and good, well-paid jobs – that parts of the country are crying out for.

“This government, whoever leads it, must do more to free us from the oil profiteers, ignore those who are blind to the climate crisis, and double down on the transition away from fossil fuels. This government must put the interests of bill-payers and workers before those of billionaire oil and gas interests.”