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Sam Balch, deputy director of home retrofit at BEIS, told a virtual conference that energy efficiency has a “potentially significant” role to pay in any post-pandemic recovery package.
5 years ago
Former Labour leader and DECC secretary Ed Miliband made a surprise return to his old brief when he was appointed to Sir Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet. But what influence will he have and how have his years in the political wilderness changed his thinking on energy issues? David Blackman talks to former colleagues - and adversaries - of Miliband about his views on decarbonisation, energy prices, nationalisation and what approach he is likely to take in holding the government to account.
Energy minister Kwasi Kwarteng has revealed that the government is considering setting a target for storing carbon trapped through carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.
A mass replacement of gas boilers within the next decade should be part of a post-coronavirus crisis economic stimulus package, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England has proposed. Sir John Gieve said the project to switch out 25 million boilers was an opportunity to mitigate the potential for low productivity in the recession likely to result from the pandemic.
The chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change talks to Utility Week about how coronavirus will affect the transition to net zero and whether behaviour changes adopted during lockdown can be sustained. Chris Stark looks at lessons from the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash and areas where a post-pandemic UK can immediately get back on track to decarbonisation.
Opposition MPs have urged the government to widen the Warm Home Discount scheme to cover all fuel poor households for the duration of the coronavirus crisis. In a letter to business and energy secretary Alok Sharma, they also demanded “long overdue plans” for improving the energy efficiency of homes are brought forward.
The government’s climate change watchdog has pushed back the publication of its blueprint for the upcoming sixth carbon budget as it seeks to understand how the coronavirus response feeds into the net-zero journey.
Alan Whitehead has retained the post of shadow energy minister in Labour’s remodelled front bench Parliamentary team. As part of the reshuffle, Whitehead’s responsibility for climate change has been split off into a separate portfolio.
A suite of measures to mitigate the impacts of coronavirus have been introduced by EDF across its nuclear power stations, Utility Week has learnt. As well as moving to two shifts per day, the company is also bolstering the ranks of those who are authorised for nuclear operational roles. It has stressed it is “extremely unlikely” plants will have to be quarantined.