Miliband invites green movement to be more critical

Ed Miliband yesterday used his first speech since his appointment as energy and climate change secretary to urge the public sector to play a greater role in the generation of renewable energy.

Echoing comments made the previous day by Environment Agency chairman Lord Smith, Miliband told delegates at the Agency's conference that with the public sector owning 10 per cent of land in the UK, it should be capable of generating far more than the one per cent of the country's renewable energy output it currently provides.

He added that while the government-backed Partnership for Renewables initiative was working with the public sector to build 500MW of renewables capacity, there was a need to "be far more ambitious, since there is the capacity for four times as much".

He called on public sector leaders to be "brave and see the opportunities", noting that the government's plans to consult on the introduction of a feed-in tariff should help make it easier for public sector facilities such as schools and hospitals to generate income from renewable energy.

The calls come a day after the Environment Agency similarly urged more public sector bodies to invest in renewable energy, announcing its own plans to install 80 wind turbines on its property, with a view to having the first turbine in place by 2011.

In addition, Miliband sought to address critics within the Environment Agency who have openly questioned whether government plans for a third runway at Heathrow will breach EU rules on air and noise pollution, promising that the government is "looking carefully at all the issues involved in Heathrow's third runway, including air quality, before making a decision".

He also issued an unprecedented call for the environmental movement to become more vocal in its calls for progress at next year's UN climate change talks in Copenhagen.

Arguing that there was an urgent need for public support for green measures to be cultivated, Miliband said that "the popular campaign for a deal in Copenhagen has not yet found its full voice".

He added that while it was "unusual for a politician to overtly invite criticism", he felt it was part of his job "to be criticised for not doing enough" and as such local authorities, businesses, NGOs and government should all be vocal in their calls for an ambitious response to climate change.