What Burnham's £30m local energy plan means for you
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on 17 September 2026 the UK will reach net zero by 2050 and announced almost £30m for local green energy.
Net zero means the UK would put no extra warming gases into the air by 2050. It is like balancing scales. What is still released must be matched by what is taken away. Burnham wrote about local green energy run by communities. He said the UK must fully commit to the 2050 date. “I am determined that we meet the commitment on which Labour was elected and reach net zero by 2050,” he said. The Guardian
What was announced
The funding, announced on 17 September 2026, will support People’s Power community energy projects in every nation of the UK. Every council and community group with funding will partly own its green energy project. Like neighbours sharing a garden, local people would share the power made nearby. The plan sits with the removal of VAT, a tax on bills, from home electricity bills from the start of October 2026. The Guardian
Burnham called the money the first payment toward a £1bn Great British Energy programme. The programme aims to fund more than 1,000 People’s Power projects. In September 2026, Great British Energy started the first wave, with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero publishing news titled “‘People's Power’ projects to give more control over local energy” credited to The Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP.
Pressure and competing positions
Burnham said the UK had just had its hottest summer on record. The Conservatives and Reform UK have rejected net zero targets. A decision on the Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea was put off until later in autumn 2026. Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is considering responses on Jackdaw and the Rosebank oilfield.
More than 50 organisations urged Burnham in August to break silence on the climate crisis. Labour points to a clean power 2030 target and large funding for clean energy including nuclear. Burnham has also promised to move power from Westminster to every postcode in the country. He was criticised for moving to cut electric vehicle sales targets and accept North Sea drilling.
Wider background
The GOV.UK page “Community Energy Fund projects (May 2026)” was updated on 8 September 2026. It lists recipients including Burnham and Weston CIC with £36,350. Michael Shanks was appointed Minister of State in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 21 July 2026. Greater Manchester is on track to meet its legal clean air targets by the end of 2026 through its investment-led Clean Air Plan.
Burnham became Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade in July. He pledged to reshape British politics for a new economic model. He also pledged stability and immediate help with the cost-of-living crisis. On foreign policy, he said the UK must be ‘bolder’ on closer EU ties and told Costa that Britain should build on defence and security work with European allies. Carbon Brief had collected 28 statements by Burnham about climate change, net-zero, fossil fuels, energy and transport.
The broader context here is timing and control. Local shared ownership gives ministers projects that are close to home and easy to see. It also gives critics a simple test. Progress will be judged by projects paid for, power sent out and bills cut. Planning speed, grid connection queues and the Jackdaw and Rosebank choices will show if the 2050 promise holds.
