Ed Miliband has been appointed the new shadow secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS).
Sir Kier Starmer, whose election as Labour leader was announced on Saturday, has just unveiled his first shadow Cabinet.
Miliband, who was secretary of state for energy and climate change from 2008 to 2010, replaces beaten leadership contender Rebecca Long-Bailey in the shadow BEIS role. She has moved to take on the education brief.
When leader of the Labour party in 2014, Miliband called for a freeze on energy bills, effectively kickstarting the process that eventually led to the introduction of the price cap last year.
As the first secretary of state at the now defunct DECC (Department of Energy and Climate Change), Miliband was responsible for the passage of the 2008 Climate Change Act, which set the target that the UK should reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 80 per cent of 1990 levels by 2050, superseded last year by the government’s introduction of the net zero target.
Since stepping down as Labour leader in 2015, Miliband has retained a keen interest in global warming issues, including a role as chair of the Institute of Public Policy and Research Just Transition Commission, which has yet to report.
Ex-shadow water minister Luke Pollard, who has been acting shadow environment secretary since the general election, has retained his role on a permanent basis.