As important, if not more so, is reducing under-occupation so that resources are not used in insulating and heating space and fabric that is not meeting housing needs, and increasing the demand for new build that has unsustainable upfront or embodied carbon. The Government should concentrate housing policy on subdivisions and retrofit. The 300,000 plus target for new building will be found to be illegal when the Government carbon reduction plan is challenged for non-compliance with the Climate Change Act and the agreed carbon budgets and targets.
Management of our waste to recover valuable raw materials so that we are less reliant on imports, is very important, however the focus only on clean electricity production misses the point that electricity is only around 20% of the UK primary energy demand of 2,200 TWh a year. It is arguable that by that crucial date of 2050, at least 80% of our primary energy needs to be delivered as fossil-free electricity, the rest is likely to be geothermal energy. Increasing electricity production 4 times over the next 26 years is a formidable task. It is probably that some of that extra power will still be imported, not as oil and gas but as ammonia which is a hydrogen carrier and much easier to transport than hydrogen gas.
Governments have a habit of not making intelligent decisions on big ticket items. Net Zero is a prime example and, until new technologies become available, we need to stop expenditures on Net Zero that do not make economic sense and instead focus on cost of living issues which are adversely affecting the great majority of people in countries that are seriously going down the Net Zero path.
Drawing parallels with the management of the pandemic, the newish briefing room in Downing Street should host regular panels of a minister flanked by experts in subjects relevant to the just transition to zero; environmental scientists, sociologists, economists etc. This would help government to 'follow the science'. Journalists and/or or public could engage by asking questions.
As important, if not more so, is reducing under-occupation so that resources are not used in insulating and heating space and fabric that is not meeting housing needs, and increasing the demand for new build that has unsustainable upfront or embodied carbon. The Government should concentrate housing policy on subdivisions and retrofit. The 300,000 plus target for new building will be found to be illegal when the Government carbon reduction plan is challenged for non-compliance with the Climate Change Act and the agreed carbon budgets and targets.
Management of our waste to recover valuable raw materials so that we are less reliant on imports, is very important, however the focus only on clean electricity production misses the point that electricity is only around 20% of the UK primary energy demand of 2,200 TWh a year. It is arguable that by that crucial date of 2050, at least 80% of our primary energy needs to be delivered as fossil-free electricity, the rest is likely to be geothermal energy. Increasing electricity production 4 times over the next 26 years is a formidable task. It is probably that some of that extra power will still be imported, not as oil and gas but as ammonia which is a hydrogen carrier and much easier to transport than hydrogen gas.
Let's hope Trump wins in the U.S.A.
Governments have a habit of not making intelligent decisions on big ticket items. Net Zero is a prime example and, until new technologies become available, we need to stop expenditures on Net Zero that do not make economic sense and instead focus on cost of living issues which are adversely affecting the great majority of people in countries that are seriously going down the Net Zero path.
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Too verbosr
Drawing parallels with the management of the pandemic, the newish briefing room in Downing Street should host regular panels of a minister flanked by experts in subjects relevant to the just transition to zero; environmental scientists, sociologists, economists etc. This would help government to 'follow the science'. Journalists and/or or public could engage by asking questions.