As we launch our ‘Mission Possible’ report outlining our five priorities for the new Government, Energy UK Deputy Director Adam Berman outlines the opportunities ahead for our environment, the economy and energy customers.
Transcript
A new government has been elected, a government with some really ambitious policies when it comes to the Net Zero economy that it hopes will drive down energy bills, bolster our energy security, and reduce emissions, all while securing the clean industries of the future.
As with any general election, now’s a really important moment to reflect on what the key policies could be to enable those goals to be met.
And here at Energy UK, representing the key companies that are building that clean infrastructure of the future.
We’ve been doing exactly that, and today we’re publishing a list of what we think are the five key priorities for an incoming government in relation to energy and climate.
The first is, of course, is a rapid decarbonisation of the power sector, in line with the Labour Party’s 2030 plans for a clean power system.
This is a really ambitious goal of achieving clean power by 2030, but we also need to recognise how much progress we’ve made within the sector.
We’ve reduced emissions by about 75% since 1990, and at the same time, we also recognise some of the incoming challenges, like the doubling of demand that we’re going to see in the lead up to 2050.
Secondly, ensuring affordable energy and a sustainable retail market. And here there’s both short-term and long-term issues that need to be addressed.
In the longer term, we need to break this constant cycle where we get to winter. And lots of bodies, including Energy UK will be advocating for more support, more targeted support for those that need it most.
But we lack the fundamental mechanism that would enable us to bring that support to those households.
In the shorter term, we need to recognise that energy costs remain really high for lots of people,and that we are still in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis where we are seeing debt levels within the retail energy market substantially higher than they were before the energy crisis, and before Covid as well.
Thirdly, working towards a better insulated housing stock and cleaner transport when it comes to our carbon budgets.
These are the next two sectors that we have to work really hard to mitigate our emissions in. And frankly, this is a nut that we have not yet cracked.
Fourth, setting up a mission-led government is going to be critical. Goals like the 2030 Clean Power Plan and the Warm Homes Plan are really ambitious goals.
But if they’re going to be met and if they’re going to be achieved, they’re going to require cooperation and collaboration across government in a way that simply hasn’t been the case for a very long time.
And finally, closer UK-EU cooperation when it comes to energy and climate. And this is going to be critical at the end of the day.
We’re a long way away now from the 2016 referendum.We have a new relationship with the European Union. But the thing that we have always said is that we need to bring down barriers to trade.
And whether we like it or not, we are deeply interconnected with the EU when it comes both to physical interconnection, with pipes and wires allowing gas and electricity to flow from place to place, but also interconnected.
In terms of our climate change goals, we both have almost identical goals when it comes to mitigating climate change and achieving Net Zero by 2050.
That’s what we’re publishing today, and we really welcome the discussion. Please do get in touch with us to discuss this further.
