The UK today , claiming it will 鈥渂oost long-term energy independence, security and prosperity鈥� 鈥� but does the plan hold up to scrutiny?
Like many countries in Europe, the UK relies heavily on natural gas for heating homes and generating electricity, so it has been hard hit by the soaring price of gas, which was high even before Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine. The recent increase of a government-set price cap on energy has left some people unable to afford to heat their homes.
鈥淲e need to protect ourselves from price spikes in the future by accelerating our move towards cleaner, cheaper, home-grown energy,鈥� business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said in a press release. Yet the strategy overlooks the cheapest and quickest ways of reducing energy costs in favour of more expensive options that take longer.
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The best way to reduce energy bills in both the short and long term , starting with insulating buildings better. Many of the UK鈥檚 homes are poorly insulated, and for years, energy experts including the Climate Change Committee, the UK鈥檚 official advisory body on meeting climate targets, have been calling for more to be done.
Despite this, the strategy includes no major new energy efficiency measures and instead summarises policies previously announced. It claims that , but it is far from clear how this will happen. Last month, the Climate Change Committee warned that the government鈥檚 current plans for insulating homes .
The strategy also favours expensive nuclear power over onshore wind and solar power, the in the UK. It sets a target of 25 per cent of the UK鈥檚 electricity 鈥� around 24 gigawatts 鈥� coming from nuclear by 2050, with up to eight new reactors instead of the one currently planned.
But nuclear plants are extremely expensive and can take a long time to build 鈥� and when it comes to climate change, we are out of time. The first new nuclear plant in Europe for more than a decade this year, 12 years late. Construction began in 2005 and was meant to be completed in 2009.
In addition to nuclear, the UK also wants to try to get more oil and gas from the North Sea. It claims 鈥渢here is no contradiction between our commitment to net zero and our commitment to a strong and evolving North Sea industry鈥�, but it should surprise no one that many disagree. The strategy also says new attempts at fracking, long dismissed in the UK, cannot be ruled out.
鈥淓xploiting new fossil fuel sources, whether in the North Sea or from fracking, is environmental madness if we want to meet our commitment to have net-zero emissions by 2050,鈥� said Bridget Woodman at the University of Exeter, UK in a statement to the UK鈥檚 Science Media Centre (SMC).
On offshore wind power, the 鈥渁mbition鈥� is 50 GW by 2030, including 5 GW of floating wind power. This has been broadly welcomed. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 very ambitious but possible,鈥� said Michael Grubb at University College London in a statement, also to the SMC.
On onshore wind power, the strategy acknowledges how cheap it is but says that due to 鈥渢he range of views鈥�, it won鈥檛 changing planning regulations in England that make it nearly impossible to get approval. This wording reflects the view held by some in government that people don鈥檛 want onshore wind turbines, yet the government鈥檚 show 80 per cent support with just 4 per cent against.
This is the 鈥渕ost stunning and cowardly failure in the strategy鈥�, said Grubb. Onshore wind and solar power capacity can be installed in just months compared with several years for offshore wind power, he said, and could help bring prices down fast.
All in all, the strategy won鈥檛 bring energy bills down anytime soon, won鈥檛 make the UK more energy independent anytime soon and, despite all the UK鈥檚 claims to be a climate leader, takes a step backwards on fossil fuels. 鈥淚t is more a collection of aspirations rather than a strategy,鈥� at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change.
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