British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government pledged Tuesday to build new gas-fired power stations to boost energy security, drawing criticism over his climate policies before this year’s general election.
The Conservative government, which aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, announced in a statement that it would seek to construct the gas power plants to avert a threat of energy blackouts.
The UK has spearheaded low-carbon energies such as nuclear, solar and wind power in a strategy to combat sky-high domestic electricity and gas bills, which rocketed after key producer Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, cutting off gas supplies and sparking a cost-of-living crisis.
“The government has committed to support the building of new gas power stations to maintain a safe and reliable energy source …