Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 4TH - 10TH OCTOBER 2019 | 23 Policy & Regulation Opinion No time to waste Whether it's net zero by 2050 or 2030, the energy sector needs to move it. T he Labour party conference voted in favour of net zero by 2030. While many will argue over the feasibility of achiev- ing this, it is nonetheless an ambition that matches the scale of the challenge ahead – 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 per cent since 1990, which represents 60 per cent 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. 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, such as the decarbonisation of heat. Industry is poised and keen to work in partnership to deliver this shared ambition, but a clear policy framework is vital in order to send the right signals. Yet with Westminster still reeling from the Supreme Court ruling, and Brexit still dominating the agenda, it is hard to see when those policy commitments may come. Long-term planning is almost impos- sible when the future might include a White Paper, a Budget, a new parliament and Queen's Speech, and even a general election. One thing we do know: whether it is net zero by 2050 or 2030, there is no time to waste. There are just 121 quarters to 2050 (or 41 to 2030), so we must see a consistent and concerted e• ort across the whole of govern- ment, which is why we have called for a "net zero test" for all new policies to ensure they support the net zero target. This approach, and a clear policy frame- work, will allow the required innovation and signi˜ cant investment that is necessary. Abbie Sampson, director of external a airs, Energy UK The full text of this opinion piece is available online at utilityweek.co.uk Lisa Nandy, shadow energy and climate change secretary under Ed Miliband, admit- ted to "mixed feelings" about her party's adoption of the headline 2030 target. "I'm not sure if we have the plans in place to meet the 2050 target," she said. Recognising the urgency But the Wigan MP welcomed the new target because it recognises the urgency of the issue and pushes it up the party's list of priorities. "We have to seize this moment and do our best with it," she said, seizing on the party's pledge to dish out 500,000 interest-free loans for electric car purchases as a positive step. Nevertheless, Nandy is concerned that the climate change issue has the potential to become a new dividing line in society. "With climate change I'm really worried that it's becoming a culture war in the way Brexit has, polarising into those who are for and those against. "We cannot a• ord for that to happen: for some people that means getting real about the scale of the risk and the need for a transition that is as sweeping and rapid as possible." But it also means being sensitive towards the concerns of those communities that have traditionally relied on fossil fuel extraction, such as coal mining, she added. "We've got to get serious about the need to take people with us and turn this into a positive agenda, or we are not going to win." While expressing pride in the last Labour government's passage of the 2008 Climate Change Act, Nandy said since then, policies had loaded the cost of cutting emissions onto the shoulders of the poorest in society. "We have to think seriously about how to cut emissions in a strategic way. There's no point telling people in Wigan to get out of their cars if the bus network has been cut back: many of my constituents have no option." Clive Lewis, who oversees environmental policy within Labour's shadow ministerial team, agreed that social strife is a potential pitfall. "This issue has potential to be one of the dividing lines in the Labour movement. We have to do all we can to bring forward all parts of our movement on the road to ensure we are on the front foot on this issue." But the lesson from the climate science is that 2030 is the right goal to aim at, he said: "We are already on the wrong path and underestimating what we need to do and we are already concerned about the catch-up we need to enable." A national conversation However, the chances of Labour being able to implement its green goals look small judging by opinion polls, in which the oppo- sition party has recently struggled to keep ahead of the Liberal Democrats. And the trouble is, with Parliament para- lysed, getting any kind of national conversa- tion going will be fraught with challenges. Sharon Darcy, director of think-tank Sustainability First, said: "We need to have a national conversation and some clarity. "If we are going to meet net zero goals, we need to work together far more collabora- tively than in the past. Part of the problem is there is a policy vacuum." Politicians may have signed up to 2050, but nobody has devised what the pathways and intermediate milestones are towards achieving even this goal – let alone Labour's more ambitious target, she said: "If there continues to be a political vacuum, we need to have things like citizens' assemblies." Labour will have to forge alliances with other parties to tackle climate change, said Nandy: "This means leaving aside di• erences and ˜ nding common cause with other politi- cal parties on this agenda. [Green Party MP] Caroline Lucas is an ally on this rather than an enemy. This will take broadest coalition. "Now we need a plan. This is bigger than Brexit – this is about the future of the planet." "If we are going to meet net zero goals, we need to work together far more collaboratively." SHARON DARCY, DIRECTOR, SUSTAINABILITY FIRST "To reach this target by 2030, work would have had to have started ten years ago – it wasn't." TIM ROACHE, GENERAL SECRETARY, GMB PIC: ALAMY

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