Labour pledges to put green energy target in manifesto that 'could push up bills' However, the Coalition scrapped plans for such a target in the Energy Bill over fears the move to green electricity would push up costs for families too much at a time of austerity. The Liberal Democrats support the idea of a "decarbonisation" target but senior Conservatives vetoed the idea amid concerns about the rising cost of living. Instead they will bring in laws that potentially pave the way for ministers to decide on such a target after 2016. Earlier this month, Charles Hendry, a former energy Tory minister, said it would be wrong to commit to greener sources of energy in law when the cost is not yet known. "Some of the emerging renewable technologies, such as offshore wind and tidal, may remain too expensive, and we don't yet know if their costs will come down to make them affordable for consumers," he said. My difficulty with the target, therefore, is that we would be requiring it to be set without knowing that it can be met, and that cannot be a responsible decision for government to make, when the costs of getting it wrong would have to be picked up by consumers for decades to come. However, other senior Tories have been campaigning for the target. Tim Yeo, who was chairman of the energy committee, unsuccessfully tried to pass an amendment to the Energy Bill to bring one in by 2014. Caroline Flint, the shadow energy and climate change secretary, said it is necessary if the UK is "serious about tackling spiralling energy bills, improving our country's energy security and stopping dangerous climate change." "The Government's failure to back a decarbonisation target will leave households vulnerable to completely unnecessary increases to their energy bills and cause Britain to miss out on vital new clean energy jobs," she added. The transition to a low-carbon economy has the potential to be a major source of growth and prosperity, but the Government's failure to back a decarbonisation target means businesses will choose to invest and create jobs elsewhere.