UK
Energy secretary blames eco ‘zealots’ for climate change failures

Daniel Martin
Thu, September 28, 2023 

Claire Coutinho, who recently replaced Grant Shapps as Energy Secretary - SIMON WALKER/NO 10 DOWNING STREET


Eco “zealots” are the biggest threat to tackling climate change, the Energy Secretary has said.

In her first interview since taking the role last month, Claire Coutinho said voters in many European countries were “revolting” against net-zero policies because their leaders had pushed the issue too hard.

She told the Spectator, however, that she does not have a heat pump or an electric car and drives a second-hand Fiesta instead.

Ms Coutinho, a former aide to Rishi Sunak, was brought in as Energy Secretary to water down some of the more onerous net-zero commitments.

Last week, the Prime Minister announced he was delaying the 2030 petrol and diesel car ban by five years, as well as slowing down the phasing-out of gas boilers – while recommitting to the net-zero target of 2050.

Mainstream pushback

Earlier this week French president Emmanuel Macron followed suit, ruling out the banning of gas boilers in residential buildings.

Ms Coutinho said she believed her reforms would help save the net-zero commitment.

“The biggest threat to the cause isn’t the climate change deniers, it’s the zealots who are turning people off,” she said.

“Look at what’s happening in Europe: you can see the AfD [Alternative for Germany], a climate-sceptic party in Germany, at its highest point in decades.

“In the Netherlands, you have got the farmers’ party and in France, just yesterday, Macron said he is not going to ban boilers.”

She said her agenda was part of a mainstream pushback against climate hardliners – ensuring that the UK “won’t see some of the revolts that we’ve seen in the rest of Europe”.

Safeguarding the future

Ms Coutinho added: “I’ve worked with Rishi for a long time and I’ve talked to him about the environment and climate change.

“We are actually safeguarding the future of climate change policy. What you see in Europe is that lots of people are losing faith, they see it as something that politicians are doing to them.

“Clobbering them in their personal finances for a cause that they don’t completely understand because they see their emissions as much lower than other countries.”

The new Energy Secretary said she has not yet invested in an electric car herself, saying “I drive a second-hand Ford Fiesta.”

Similarly, she does not own a heat pump, though she did previously live in an off-gas grid home.