Shadow Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero Andrew Bowie has claimed that the Government is "damaging the economy" by believing that net zero can be achieved by 2050.
Speaking to GB News, Bowie criticised the Government's "rigid" belief that achieving net zero carbon emissions by the target year is in the national interest.
"That is wrong-headed, which is why Kemi Badenoch just two weeks ago announced that we were ditching our net zero by 2050 commitment, because it is making this country poor," he said.
The Conservative frontbencher argued the policy is "driving away investment" and "killing our heavy industry".
Bowie hit out at Labour's 'rigid' net zero beliefs following their electric vehicles pledge
GB News / PA
Bowie pointed to several industries he believes are suffering under current policies.
"Heavy industry, manufacturing, be that ceramics, be that automotive, be that steel, for example, are leaving the United Kingdom because of carbon taxes and rigid, arbitrary targets," he told GB News.
He claimed these targets have "no discernible positive impact for the UK or the UK economy".
"We're going to be seeing more of that across the country as a result of these wrong-headed policies," Bowie warned.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Speaking at a Jaguar Land Rover plant in the West Midlands, Keir Starmer called for "cool heads" in response to Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffsPABowie emphasised that the Conservatives still believe in decarbonisation but reject arbitrary targets: "We're not saying we don't believe in decarbonisation or that we should do what we can to pass the world on in a better place than in which we found it."
He argued the 2050 date "was set in legislation with no discussion for no reason other than we needed to have a date".
The Shadow Business Secretary highlighted his party's environmental record, saying: "We're very proud of our record on decarbonisation. We cut our carbon emissions faster than any other G7 nation, by half but we did that while still investing in the UK economy and indeed growing the economy."
He questioned the decision to bring forward the EV mandate to 2030, after the previous Conservative government had pushed it back to 2035.
Bowie told GB News that Labour are 'damaging the economy' with their net zero policies
GB News
"What we heard yesterday was a back of a fag packet, half-baked idea of an extension or exemption for some vehicles, but not all," he said.
Bowie expressed concern that most people "will not be able to afford to buy a hybrid, or indeed a McLaren or an Aston Martin".
Instead, he argued, from 2030 consumers wanting a new car will be "forced to buy a very expensive electric vehicle" while relying on a charging network that is "not there and is unreliable".
Bowie concluded that the Government's approach to net zero is fundamentally flawed: "The direction of travel from this Government seems to be net zero by 2050 at the expense of everything else."
