‘Green Day has turned into Groundhog Day’

There has been an underwhelmed response to the government’s outline of announcements relating to the much-trailled ‘Green Day’.

Recently rebranded as Energy Security Day, Thursday’s (30 March) glut of policy releases includes the updated Energy Security Plan and the government’s response to Chris Skidmore’s Net Zero Review.

New National Policy Statements and the 2023 Green Finance Strategy are among the other releases. The first annual Contracts for Difference allocation round also opens.

However, the announcement of highlights from across this package, released at midnight on Thursday, revealed few new commitments.

Greenpeace UK’s head of climate, Mel Evans, described it as a “piecemeal, re-heated and confusing announcement”, which was “just not enough to meaningfully tackle climate change or to provide secure, affordable energy for households”.

The government promised to use the Green Day platform to set out its plans during 2023/24 to “rebalance gas and electricity costs in household bills”, although no detail was given on how this would be achieved.

Its response to the ECO+ consultation promises a “Great British Insulation Scheme” to benefit 300,000 homes. This will form part of the previously announced £1 billion energy efficiency programme running from Spring until March 2026.

Meanwhile, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme will be extended until 2028, offering a grant of up to £5,000 to anyone buying a heat pump. There is as yet no detail on whether underspend in the first year of the programme will be rolled over.

Other headline announcements include:

• The first projects to progress to the next stage of negotiations to roll out the first Carbon Capture cluster, as well launching the round for areas to apply for two additional future clusters, with further projects to be added
• The launch of Great British Nuclear, under the leadership of Simon Bowen as interim chair and current Magnox head Gwen Parry-Jones as interim chief executive.
• Awards under the £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund
• The launch of a £30 million Heat Pump Investment Accelerator, designed to leverage £270 million private investment to boost manufacturing and supply of heat pumps in the UK
• Some £381 million to be invested through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure fund, along with £15 million for the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme
• Publication of Patrick Vallance’s Pro-Innovation Regulation of Technologies Review
• A consultation on measures to address future carbon leakage risk

Evans said: “Green Day has turned into Groundhog Day – yet another government failure on climate action. As climate chaos hits our shores and millions struggle to pay their bills, ministers have again spectacularly failed to rise to the challenge.”

Meanwhile, Luke Murphy, associate director at the IPPR thinktank, said: “This should be the moment to seize the economic opportunities of the global green race but instead the government’s dithering risks the UK becoming the ‘sick and dirty’ man of Europe once again.

“To compete with our international counterparts, we need a step change filling the close to £30 billion annual gap in investment needed to reach net zero and restore nature, and committing to a modern industrial strategy. That means investing in clean homes, transport, and industry.

“There appear to be some welcome though minor measures, consultations and reannouncements announced today, but the government must urgently bring forward its plans now postponed till later in the year. The UK needs to change course urgently, before it’s too late.”

Renewable UK’s executive director of policy Ana Musat said the announcements “do not go far enough to attract the investment we need in the renewable energy sector” and called for bolder action.

She added: “The government has highlighted some important steps forward in existing policies and schemes, but we need much more than a ‘business as usual’ approach to kickstart investment on the level we need to boost energy security, cut consumer bills and reach net zero. Without that, we won’t land the UK-wide economic benefits of building up new clean energy supply chains, as they will go elsewhere where the investment environment is more conducive and attractive.”

Lawrence Slade, chief executive of Energy Networks Association, said he was pleased to see the government recognise that planning, regulation and policy must keep pace with the urgent need for investment and innovation in the sector.

He added: “Alongside the immediate steps our members are already taking, we hope the electricity commissioner’s review of planning and connections will help identify and remove barriers for customers looking to connect to the grid and speed up the development of vital energy infrastructure.

“Alongside massive amounts of electrification, developing our hydrogen economy is crucial if we are to decarbonise industry, businesses, transport and homes. Decisions on hydrogen still remain, especially around hydrogen blending and business models for hydrogen transport and storage. We need to see progress there.”

Energy UK chief executive Emma Pinchbeck gave a cautious welcome to the government reaffirming its ambitions, saying it must now be followed by “a relentless drive over the coming weeks, months and years to deliver on them”.