Ed Balls said if the target were not met it would be a dereliction of duty.
His comments came as he announced the appointment of noted architect Robin Nicholson as chair of the government’s Zero Carbon Task Force, which will advise ministers on how to build greener schools.
I know that current technology makes zero-carbon schools expensive and challenging to install on many existing school sites, Balls said.
The fact is that we have a clear moral responsibility to future generations to make it happen. We can no longer sit back and wait for the science to catch up with us – it would be a dereliction of duty if we did.
Nicholson, a former vice-president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, admitted the task force did not have a straightforward job. But if there is one sector that must show the way then it should be schools, he added.
