Net zero means there is no time to waste for the energy sector

As storm clouds replaced the sunshine at the seaside and shockwaves from the Supreme Court reverberated around the conference hall, the Labour Party ended its Brighton conference with a firm commitment to decarbonisation, voting in favour of a motion to deliver net-zero emissions by 2030.

While many will argue over the feasibility of achieving this milestone in a little over a decade – and indeed the Committee on Climate Change itself said 2050 is likely to be “the earliest credible date” for most sectors to be able to achieve this – it is nonetheless an ambition that matches the scale of the challenge and that is to be welcomed.

The power sector has been world-leading in its decarbonisation achievements – as our recent ‘Energy in the UK’ report highlighted, lowering its CO2 emissions by 68% since 1990 which represents 60% of the overall economy-wide reduction. As an industry we are ready to lead further progress and excited at the opportunity of driving the transition which will deliver benefits for the environment, the economy and customers.

But net zero is a game-changer and means we must go further and faster in decarbonising the economy and see the same levels of progress as power in areas where the solutions are more complex, like the decarbonisation of heat.

Industry is poised and keen to work in partnership to deliver this shared ambition but a clear policy framework is critical – and urgently required – in order to send the signals that will allow innovation and investment to flow.

Yet with Westminster still reeling from the Supreme Court ruling, and Brexit still set to dominate the parliamentary and political agenda over the coming weeks and months, it is hard to see when those policy commitments may come.

Long term planning is almost impossible – unless you count contingency planning for all possible scenarios – when the future might include a White Paper, a Budget, a new session of parliament and Queen’s Speech and even a General Election but nobody knows when – or can even guarantee who the protagonists might be.

One thing we know – whether it is net-zero by 2050 or 2030 – is that there is no time to waste. There are just 121 quarters to 2050 (just 41 to 2030!). So we must see a consistent and concerted effort across the whole of Government, which is why we have called for a ‘net-zero test’ for all new policies to ensure they support the net-zero target, rather than undermine it.

This approach, and a clear policy framework, will allow the required innovation and significant investment to follow and enable industry to further decarbonise the economy delivering huge benefits for the UK economy, jobs and the environment at an ever-falling cost to customers.