RE: Heading North Everyday ?9 Oct 2024 08:21
On 30th of March 2023, the UK government published it’s proposals for the U.K.’s transition to net zero. This came in the form of three documents – Powering up Britain, Energy Security Plan and the Net Zero Growth Plan, the latter being the government’s response to the net zero review by MP, Chris Skidmore following its Net Zero Strategy being deemed unlawful. Altogether nearly 3000 pages!
Now, I cannot claim that I have read every page of this updated Net Zero Strategy, but I have done enough to at least form a first impression, and if anything, that first impression is one of disappointment. What was heralded as “Green Day” should have perhaps been called “Green Bud Day” – it is a move in the right direction, shows promise for the future, but does not really move the country into the full green leaf of decarbonisation.
Reading the summaries of this tome, the first impression is that the government has done a good job of recycling what it already had in place, and despite the volume of words, the revised strategy contains only a few new commitments or proposals. This comes at a time when the government has already confirmed that it is not going to meet its 6th carbon budget – a legally binding commitment. Being thankful for small mercies, however, it is good to see that the government does recognise the important role that infrastructure plays in meeting net zero and achieving energy security, but to my mind, the policy frameworks are not clear and the support mechanisms for emerging technologies falls far short of what is required.
If the UK is to properly decarbonise and maximise the economic benefit of doing so, it must ensure that investment is made within this country and does not move off elsewhere. Decarbonising requires high capital outlays and above average level of risk for its investors. This being the case, with uncertain policies and absence of mechanisms to bridge the additional risk, investors will not have the required confidence to make the investment. This applies not only to large infrastructure projects such as carbon capture and storage with offshore caverns to store the carbon dioxide, but also to more niche applications such as that offered by Powerhouse. As has been exemplified by recent announcements, we are being approached by multiple developers across the world, and the question for us is should we devote our efforts here in the UK, where we struggle to implement even a modest contribution to decarbonising, or should we concentrate our efforts abroad, where we appear to be welcomed with open arms?
I have worked in many countries around the world, but still, consider that home is best. As long as I am influencing what we do, Powerhouse will continue to pursue projects in the UK to the best of its ability. In favour of the new strategy, there does seem to be a substantial sum on offer for research and technology development and there is no doubting of the government’s wish to develop UK
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