Furious Ed Miliband slams Tories 'abandoning' their beliefs as he warns of 'betrayal'

Ed Miliband has slammed the Tories for having "abandoned its belief in climate action" which he said was a "betrayal of future generations".

In a major statement in the Commons, the Energy Secretary declared that "British leadership matters" in helping to reduce the impact of the climate and nature crisis. He criticised Shadow Scotland Secretary Andrew Bowie, who has previously said hitting net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is "not based on science".

Mr Miliband said he was "absolutely wrong", and hitting out at the Conservatives, he said: “They are anti-science. They are anti-jobs. They are anti-energy security, and they are anti-future generations.”

The Cabinet minister said there hadn't been a "culture war" on the climate crisis in 20 years, because "this really matters". But responding to Mr Bowie in the Commons, he said "he and his colleagues have taken the decision to abandon 20 years of bipartisanship when it comes to climate".

READ MORE: UK’s way of life ‘under threat’ as extreme weather becomes the norm Ed Miliband says

Mr Miliband added: "The Conservative Party has abandoned its belief in climate action, apparently... I noticed there are young people watching the public gallery and elsewhere. What message do we send to them by saying: 'Look, we just can't act on this'. I mean, it is such a betrayal of future generations who have genuine anxiety about what world they're going to inherit from us."

In the Commons, Mr Bowie accused Mr Miliband of using "shrill criticism" against those who question his department. He said: "The Leader of the Opposition (Kemi Badenoch) has been very clear, facing net zero by 2050 is unachievable, without making the country worse off. That is the truth, global warming is a global issue which we cannot face alone.

"The global climate challenge will not be solved by the UK alone, and it cannot be solved on the backs of British workers or British billpayers."

Following the debate, Ami McCarthy, head of politics at Greenpeace UK, said: “Climate change is not only a threat to our way of life in Britain, but to all life on this planet. Denying this is a betrayal of future generations, and it’s betraying people living through devastating climate impacts like extreme heat and flooding right now.

“Miliband is right to call out the nonsense spouted by opportunistic political leaders like Farage and Trump who deny climate change as they rake in donations from fossil fuel companies. They are fighting against a safe future on this planet in order to continue with business as usual.

"It’s high time we returned to reality where political consensus on climate was backed by science and truth-telling, not cynically used as a way to divide the country and distract from the real issues we face.

"Effective action to halt climate change would also tackle issues like the cost of living by lowering people’s bills through cheap renewable energy."

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