by Will Jones
A green energy think tank that Ed Miliband relied on to draw up policy is partly funded by overseas cash, leading to questions about the influence of “shady” green lobbyists and financiers in Britain’s Net Zero policies. The Telegraph has more.
Ember, which inspired the Energy Secretary’s pledge to lower bills by £300 by 2030, is funded by a number of overseas climate-focused donors including the Netherlands-based European Climate Foundation (ECF) and the Sequoia Climate Foundation, headquartered in California.
The funds are listed on Ember’s website as contributions from the founders of the London-based think tank, though exact donation figures are not provided.
Ember, which says it “aims to accelerate the clean energy transition”, is one of a number of pro-Net Zero and green energy think tanks funded by overseas investors.
According to the Spectator, the ECF donated £338,000 last year to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a Left-leaning think tank, and has provided £114,000 to the New Economics Foundation, another Left-wing think tank whose stated purpose is to create a “new economy that works for people and within environmental limits”.
Opposition parties said there were questions to answer about the transparency of funding behind think tanks seeking to influence Britain’s Net Zero debate.
Andrew Griffith, the Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade, said: “There’s a murky world financing the advocacy of climate policies, the purpose of which seems to indulge the luxury beliefs of the uber-rich whilst the poor pay the price.
“Whilst the Government refuses to meet oil companies, shady green organisations seem to have a direct line to Ed Miliband.”
Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform, said: “Serious questions need to be answered around overseas green lobbyist influence on this Labour Government and Ministers.”
A 2023 report by Ember into how expanding renewables could help cut bills was taken up by Miliband, who used it as the basis of his pledge to lower household bills by £300 by 2030, made during the 2024 election campaign.
Labour has made little progress towards that goal and Miliband has since been widely criticised for the promise, though the Energy Secretary has stood by the pledge.
Of course, this won’t be news to Daily Sceptic readers. But it’s good to see the mainstream media finally catching up.
Worth reading in full.
