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Network June 2019

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NETWORK / 15 / JUNE 2019 policies and money that's needed to be in place to achieve the net-zero goal. This from the most eminent scientists and respected community across many sectors in this sphere of climate change and technology understanding. The Scottish Government has already accepted all the findings of the report. Westminster is, yet, to reply. The challenge now for the regulated in - dustry is to understand the role they need to play to enable the transport industry, built environment, agriculture, water, waste and other sectors to deliver their contributions to the overall net-zero ambition by 2050. Government still does not accept that a whole systems approach to policy, regula- tion and free market activity is needed. Hopefully, they will now see that the CCC disagree with this conclusion. Given the five and half years of evidence building that was completed by the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the Energy Systems Catapult on the Future Power Systems Architecture (FPSA) project [commissioned and supported by BEIS and Innovate UK] on whole systems analysis and recommenda - tions for policy, governance and regulation to be re-imagined to achieve the desired outcomes, the government has not heeded external independent advice thus far. The opportunity this tipping point rep - resents cannot be underestimated. As the CCC report highlights, we are not waiting for technology, we have everything we need to deliver the technical results today. It is clear it is the will to take the tough decisions and to change the behaviour of not only our citizens but of our parliamentarians, regulators, public bodies, utilities, indus - try, in fact every sector and segment of our societal machinery. And what was clear was that the first group that need to change are our legislators, followed very quickly by our regulators and the rest of the establishment, for each of the other groups to deliver. Leadership and collaboration are the only way we will be able to deliver the required outcomes. The long list of actions that government have in place today will be trotted out, no doubt, and highlighted as the answer to this clarion call: Government reviews on codes, engineering standards, supplier hubs, task - forces on data and electric vehicles, more money being spent on innovation, 5G, digi- talisation, the Open Networks project, smart metering, and more. is this not a wonderful array of joined up thinking and leadership? From those involved this is neither joined up nor whole systems based in their concep- tion or delivery – they are tightly controlled envelopes with very specific terms of refer- ence all silo based. The wider perspective The focus on all the above initiatives are top down and specifically around the regulated businesses and infrastructure. Although this represents an important part of the whole system, it is only part and in terms of the whole energy system only represents a third (roughly) of the system. The infrastructure that connects users to their lifestyles is sig- nificantly bigger and growing exponentially. Be it solar panels, Internet of Things (IoT), or their electric vehicle (EV) chargers or heating and cooling infrastructure, the CCC report highlights the limited choices people will have dependent on place and lifestyle. There is another axiom that is also true, that the system is there to serve the people, not the other way around. We must not lose sight of why we are doing the things we are doing. So, citizens will be expected to change their lifestyles significantly from not eating so much meat through to using less and conserving more. Industry on the other hand will need to change its view on carbon capture, use and storage. Utilities will be expected to expand their networks and de - liver in a timely fashion to allow the others to manage their transfer in an orderly way from fossil fuels to electrical solutions. And all this for the same cost as when the CCC last reported. Local authorities, urban, rural and islands are all part of the solution. The key is there is no silver bullet, no specific tech- nology, no specific social class, no place that is more or less important. The solutions that exist are not delivered by one vendor or one type of technology - they are all needed in different forms, numbers, types and geographies. The key is that they all must complement each other and act to reinforce people's lifestyles while reducing the impact on the environment. This is not just about integration at a technical level. So just where is this cooperation and coordination of sub-systems being considered? Who has this vantage point? Who can be trusted in this role? How will it be funded? How can it be independent? Where are the skills to understand these critical complex systems of systems? These and other questions remain. The interface between the regulated and the non-regulated world is clearly a barrier to whole systems understanding. Emergent architecture where no one entity will have control or jurisdiction will happen and should be welcomed to unlock the po - tential for re-imagining our infrastructure. In much the same way as the internet was completely unknown as to the opportunities it would unlock, the emergent nature of our energy systems will unlock huge potential for a sustainable future. It is up to engineers to turn the reality of this ambition into an opportunity and not a brake on our well-being, selected lifestyles or social standing. This can only be achieved if legislators and regulators understand the wider benefits of reducing the regulatory burden and not deliver even greater command and control structures to implement the future. Leadership can be inverted; stakeholders are the ones with a much greater knowledge of the art of the possible. Government should be the social conscience and the judiciary arbiter of last result. The CCC has taken a very pragmatic, evidence-based approach to delivering some tough messages. It is now the turn of legislators, regulators and the rest of the establishment to raise their game and not respond to this report with a continuation of discussions about ESO, DSO, taskforces and other market-based shuffling of deck chairs. A radical response to how to manage this transition is needed. Governance change, facilitation, collaboration and coordination will enable a complex system of critical sys - tems to unlock the huge potential of all sec- tors to deliver their carbon savings, lower overall consumption, increase recycling and help deliver the 2050 goal. "The CCC has taken a very pragmatic, evidence-based approach to delivering some tough messages." DECARBONISATION OF TRANSPORT DECARBONISATION OF HEAT

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