Andy Burnham’s new Energy Secretary demanded Britain hit full Net Zero 15 years before target

Her predecessor Ed Miliband was accused of 'Net Zero fanaticism'

The new Energy Secretary once called for a “green economic revolution” and said Net Zero should be hit 15 years earlier than the 2050 target.

Miatti Fahnbulleh also joked that Zack Polanski’s Green Party had used her economic ideas ahead of the 2026 local elections.

Ms Fahnbulleh, who was elected as an MP in 2024, took over her cabinet role from Ed Miliband.

During his tenure, Mr Miliband was accused of “Net Zero fanaticism” by Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch. Industry leaders have repeatedly called for a more pragmatic approach to energy.

But the Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, which sits in the heartlands of the North Sea oil industry, said that, despite briefings that Andy Burnham would be more favourable to the sector, “his pick for Energy Secretary suggests we will see more of the same”.

Before becoming an MP, Ms Fahnbulleh worked as a civil servant and government adviser.

She also led the New Economics Foundation, a left-wing think tank that supported lower interest rates for green energy investments.

In 2019, she wrote an essay for the Foreign Affairs magazine, in which she said we should strive to hit Net Zero by the mid 2030s.

The official Government target for zero carbon emissions is 2050.

She called for a “global green new deal” that would see “massive mobilisation of resources to decarbonise and at the same time create millions of jobs and lift living standards”.

She wrote: “The goal should be net zero carbon emissions within ten to 15 years, which will require governments to make significant investments in green infrastructure, such as onshore and offshore wind farms and smart energy grids.”

On becoming an MP, Ms Fahnbulleh was made a junior minister in the energy department, where she led the Government’s Warm Home Plan.

But the Peckham MP was the first minister to walk out of Sir Keir Starmer’s Government after the disastrous May elections.

The Greens made substantial gains at Labour’s expense. Shortly before the elections, Green leader Zack Polanski gave a speech at the New Economics Foundation. In an interview with BBC show Political Thinking, Nick Robinson suggested Mr Polanski had stolen her thunder.

He said: “You have argued for a green economic revolution, as an official, as a think tanker, as a minister.

Along come the Greens and say, ‘no, stuff that, vote for us’.”

She replied: “It’s painful. What’s doubly painful is when Zack launched his platform, he did it at the New Economics Foundation, which I used to run.

“Their central analysis of the problem with the economy has been the analysis which I have been banging on about for the last decade and a bit.

“So it’s painful, because they are entering the space that I believe the Labour party should be holding.

“This should be our analysis of the problems with the country – I believe it to my absolute core.”

Mr Robinson quoted from former Tory energy secretary, Greg Clark.

Ms Fahnbulleh had worked under him as a civil servant in the Cabinet Office.

Mr Clark said of her: “She was a do-er. She was incredibly creative and willing to take a risk in her career... didn’t conform to the standard civil service way of doing things.”

Following her promotion, Ms Fahnbulleh said it was “an incredible honour” to become Energy Secretary.

One of Mr Burnham’s first policies was to ditch VAT on domestic energy bills and Ms Fahnbulleh said she would continue to work on lowering costs. She said: “Families are struggling with their energy bills and this VAT cut to electricity will give some breathing space this winter. “My focus now is working to bring bills down for good.”