Great strides were made under the coalition, but now green investment has collapsed and jobs are at risk – and the Tories’ justification for all this is bogus
In the past three months, for the first time in our history, Britain produced more electricity from renewable sources than it did from coal. Between 2010 and 2015, Britain’s renewable power capacity trebled, with over £40bn invested into onshore and offshore wind farms, solar PV and biomass.
But that massive progress in clean energy is about to slow dramatically, thanks to policy changes brought in since May’s general election. Without Liberal Democrats in coalition, the new Conservative government is slashing the low-carbon energy investment Britain needs if we are to tackle climate change and reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels.
Related: There’s outrage over steel, but we should be furious over solar power | Ian Birrell
Related: The Observer view on the Tory renewable energy policy | Observer editorial