Fury over Labour's 'hypocrisy' as Ed Miliband's own headquarters powered by fossil fuels
The revelation exposes the hypocrisy at the heart of the Government's energy policy, an expert says.
Ed Miliband's own headquarters is powered by fossil fuels despite the department pushing renewable energy. Freedom of Information (FoI) requests submitted by not-for-profit energy consultancy, Box Power, reveal that Government departments and agencies favour carbon-intensive sources of energy, such as oil and natural gas, over renewable alternatives.
The FoI requests show over four-fifths of electricity used by Whitehall is from a standard mix known as "brown" power, as a proportion of it comes from fossil fuels. This includes the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero's (DESNZ) HQ in central London.
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Corin Dalby, Box Power's Chief Executive, told The Times: "The data demonstrates hypocrisy at the heart of the Government’s energy policy.
"On the one hand, the Government is urging businesses and the public to invest in green power, but on the other, many of its own sponsored bodies and departments choose brown power because it’s cheaper.
"Imagine if the Department of Health said it won’t buy healthy food because crisps are more affordable."
He added the whole mess implies either that green tariffs are overpriced or the Government doesn’t believe its own messaging or its green policy is more public relations than practice.
Britain is legally committed to cut all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
The binding target means the total emissions generated will be equal to or less than those removed from the atmosphere.
But while councils, NHS bodies and the Bank of England have greener energy deals, Government departments, including the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Foreign Office, use "brown" power.
The Mining Remediation Authority, a part of DESNZ, said its £8.5million bill for standard grid power over 12 months provided "best value" for taxpayers.
A DESNZ spokesperson said: "This Government has put clean energy at the heart of its agenda, attracting billions in clean energy investment that will help to protect the public sector, businesses and households from volatile fossil fuel markets – on top of a 47% reduction in direct emissions from public sector buildings between 1990 and 2024."
They said central Government direct emissions have reduced by 15% and indirect emissions by 41% since 2017/18.
The spokesperson added that the Government’s mission to become a clean energy superpower has galvanised more than £62billion in private investment across the country since July 2024.
